
Book /^Ls\Nij,_ 
flight N!* 



COBfJUGIfr DEIOEHft 



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MEMORIAL, VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



GRADUATES AND ELEVES 



VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE 



^VHO FELL DURING THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. 



BY 

CHARLES D. WALKER, 

LATE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR V. M. 1. 



re :^^'% 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. 

1875- 



.V5V • 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1875, ^Y 

CHAS. D. WALKER, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, 



r 



to 
GEN. WILLIAM H. RICHARDSON, 

ADJUTANT-GENERAL OF THE STATE OF VIRGINIA, 
AND THE LIFE-LONG FRIEND OF THE V. M. I., 

THIS RECORD 

OF THOSE OF HIS "BOYS" WHO DIKD FOR THE CAUSE 

IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



The idea of the following work first found expression in 
December, 1862, when the Adjutant-General of the State of 
Virginia, in presenting his annual report to the Legislature 
included in it an extended memorial of the eleves of the 
Military Institute, who up to that time had taken part in 
the service of the Southern Confederacy. This memorial, 
which had been prepared by General Smith, was widely 
circulated and eagerly sought after. During the summer 
of 1865, General Smith, as a partial relief from the heavy 
care laid upon him by the destruction of the Institute build- 
ings, the erection of which had constituted one part of his 
life-work, turned to that other part, which no enemy could 
destroy — the record of those who had gone forth from the 
now dismantled walls to battle and to die for their country. 
He felt assured that if an interest had been evinced in such 
a memorial when the Cause was young, vigorous, and with 
prospect of success, much more, now that the Cause was- 
lost, would there be felt a deeper and more tender interest 
in a fuller record, which should include all who fought or 
died for its dear sake. Acting upon this idea, he prepared 
short sketches of about four hundred Cadets who had been 
in service. But the labor of rebuilding the Institute, and 
the necessity of applying every energy to that object, inter- 

S 



Vm> "TisO u 



6 PREFA CE. 

fered with their satisfactory completion. When, in 1871, the 
Rev. J. L. Johnson issued the Univa'sity Mc}nonal,A\\e. 
Faculty of the Institute — recognizing the appropriateness of 
the form of tribute paid therein to the gallant dead of our 
noble State university — felt that her younger sister could 
not do better in this respect than to follow her example. 
Accordingly, the execution of the following work was or- 
dered, in which the plan of the University Memorial, except 
in a few minor details, has been closely followed. Four 
of the sketches in this Memorial, by permission of Mr. 
Johnson, and at the request of the families of the de- 
ceased, are copied from that volume. 

To carry out the design thus decided upon a committee 
was appointed, consisting of General F. H. Smith, LL.D., 
Commodore M. F. Maury, LL.D., Colonel James W. Mas- 
sie, Colonel Scott Ship, Colonel R. L. Madison, M.D., and 
Colonel W. E. Cutshaw, to supervise the preparation of 
the book, examining and deciding upon the sketches. 
Scarcely was the work begun when one of this number, 
Colonel Massie, himself a brave and distinguished soldier, 
found rest from terrible suffering, brought on by exposure 
in service, and went to join his comrades whose names 
constitute this record. So, too, when the committee had 
almost finished their work, another of their number. Com- 
modore Maury, the Pathfinder of the Sea, his anchors not 
dragging to the last,* came safely to rest " in the haven 
where he would be." On many of the sketches which he 
examined were written brief notes, generally expressive of 
admiration for some brave boy-soldier, who, ere manhood 
had rendered his military services due to his country, had 

I * His last words were, " Do I drag my anchors ?" 



PREFA CE. 7 

freely given them, and with them his life, an offering of youth- 
ful patriotism, 

A longer time than was anticipated has been needed for 
the completion of this work. And now, when at length it 
goes forth, so numerous are its imperfections that it would 
be withheld but for the assurance that the principle which 
prompted its inception, and has carried it through to com- 
pletion, must commend it, in spite of all defects, to the 
Southern people. That principle was to rescue from ob- 
livion the names of those fallen Confederate soldiers who 
were sons of the Virginia Military Institute. In the en- 
deavor to perform this sacred duty many difficulties and dis- 
couragements have been encountered. The many changes 
brought about by the war have made it difficult, in some 
instances impossible, to get a clue to the residence of any 
relative or friend of the deceased. And even where this in- 
surmountable obstacle did not present itself, the years which 
have elapsed since the war have blotted from memory all 
save salient facts. Hence it has happened that in some 
cases, where direct communication with the immediate family 
was possible, they have preferred the simple record of a few 
lines to any attempt at a formal memoir founded upon the 
imperfect data in their possession. This will account for 
the brevity of some of the sketches, though in the majority 
of cases this brevity is due to lack of information. Honest 
effort was made to learn all that could be known of each 
and every one, and all that was learned is faithfully recorded. 

Doubtless it would have improved the appearance of the 
book to throw all these imperfect sketches together in an 
appendix, but this did not accord with our plan. No dis- 
tinction of merit, rank, or service determines the position of 
a name on this roll of honor. It is only a roll-call of the 



8 PRE FA CE. 

Cadets who died for the South ; all have equal honor in 
this one fact, that they gave up their lives ; each one has 
his place in ranks ; each one died in the forefront of duty, 
and it were dishonor to any one to put him in the rear. 

When it is remembered that a very large proportion of 
those whose life-story is here told had not reached years of 
manhood, so that time for full development of character or 
opportunity for performance of deed had not been given, 
there will be no difficulty in understanding the lack of inci- 
dent in some of the memoirs, their great likeness to each 
other, and in this their want of that individuality which 
gives to memoirs, as such, their value. The single interest- 
ing event of the young life, its close on the field of battle, 
being the same in many cases, variety in describing those 
lives was impossible. To secure as much variety as was 
practicable, such changes only have been made in the rough 
memoirs, furnished often by inexperienced writers, as was 
absolutely necessary; bad shape and awkward expression 
being preferable to the dead sameness that must have re- 
sulted had they all been remodeled by a single hand. 

Despite all these difficulties, and the consequent defects 
of the book, still, it contains many noble memoirs, that 
ought to be interesting and profitable to all ; stirring ac- 
counts of heroic deeds, life-stories of brave, true, tender, 
great-hearted Christian soldiers, worthy of the imitation of 
the young, and of the admiration of the older, some of 
whom were their comrades in arms. 

CHARLES D. WALKER. 

March 20, 1S75. 



CONTENTS. 



I.— Adie, Louis B., Private, Mosby's Cavalry. By Chas. L 

Powell, A.M 

II.— Alexander, Thos., Lieutenant, Co. C, 40th Virginia In 

fantry ....••••• 
III. — Allen, Tas. W., Colonel. 2d Virginia Infantry 
IV. _Allen. Robt. C. , Colonel, 28th Virginia Infantry . 
v.— Armistead, Jno. S., Lieutenant, C. S. Engineers . 
VI.— ASHBY, JAS. L., Private, Co. D, 6th Virginia Cavalry 
• VII.— AsHBY, John W., Private, Co. I, 12th Virginia Cavalry 
(aviIL — AsHBY. Richard, Captain, Co. A, ylh Virginia Cavalry 
IX.— Atwell, S. F., Corporal, Co. A, Corps of Cadets . 

X.— Barton, C. M., Lieutenant, Cutshaw's Battery . 
XL— Beasley, p. R., Lieutenant, 35th Alabama Infantry 
XIL— Benbury, R. B., Private, North Carolina Infantry . 
XIIL— Bishop, B. F., Captain, Staff General Wright . 
XIV. — BoTTS, Lawson, C olonel, 2d Virginia Infantry, By Col 

onel R. H. Lee 

XV.— Bradley, R., Captain, 14th Louisiana Infantry 
XVI.— Bray, W. H., Lieutenant, Virginia Infantry . 
XVII.— Breckinridge, Jas., Captain, Co. C* 2d Virginia Cav- 
alry 

XVIIL— Breckinridge, P. G., Captain, Co. B, 2d Virginia Cav- 
alry 

XIX.— Burgess, A. A., Private, ist Virginia Infantry . 

XX. — Burgwyn. H. K., Colonel, 26th North Carolina Infantry 
XXL— Burke, Jno. W.. Sergeant, King William Artillery . 
XXII.— Burke, Thos. M., Major, 55th Virginia Infantry . 



17 

20 
21 

26 
30 
33 
34 
36 
41 

42 
46 



53 
58 
60 

60 

67 
72 

73 
87 
91 



XXIIL— Cabell, W. H., Orderly Sergeant, Co. D, Corps of Cadets 92 
XXIV.— Carrington, a. C, Lieutenant, Co. D, i8th Virginia 

Infantry, By Rev, R, L, Dabney, D,D. . . , 98 

9 



10 CONTENTS. 

VAGB 

XXV. — Chenowith, Jos. H., Major, 31st Virginia Infantry . 108 
XXVI.— Cherry, J. B., Captain, Co. F, 4th North Carolina 

Cavalry . . .114 

^ XXVII. ^Claiborne, T. P., L ieutenant-Colonel, Virginia Bat- 
talion 116 

XXVIII.— Clopton, a. W., Adjutant, 34th North Carolina In- 
fantry . .116 

XXIX. — COLCOTT, A. D., Lieutenant-Colonel, 3d Virginia In- 
fantry . . . .119 

% XXX.— Colston, Raleigh T.^ Lieutenant-Colonel, 2d Vir- 
ginia Infantry . . . . . . . .120 

XXXI. — Crittenden, L., Lieutenant, Co. E, 40th Virginia In- 
fantry 133 

XXXII. — Crockett, C. G., Private, Co. B, Corps of Cadets . 137 
XXXIII. — Crump, C. A., Colonel, i6th Virginia Infantry . . 141 
^ XXXIV. — Crutchfield, S., Colonel, and Chief of Artillery, 2d 

Corps, A. N. V. By General W. N. Pendleton . 143 
XXXIV^— Crawford, R. A. No record. 

XXXV. — Dabney, B. G., Private, Thomson's Horse Artillery . 160 

XXXVI. — Dabney, E. M., Captain, Co. C, 52d Virginia Infantry 161 

XXXVII. — Davis, J. Lucius, Private, loth Virginia Cavalry . . 163 

XXXVIII.— Davis, T. B., Lieutenant, Co. D, 2d Virginia Cavalry 165 

XXXIX. ^)erby, C. a.. Colonel, 44th Alabama Infantry . .169 

XL. — Deyerle, M. p., Captain, Co. I, 28th Virginia Infantry. 

By D. a. Carter, Esq 173 

XLI. — Dove, Leslie C, Courier, General Chambliss . -175 

XLIL— Dudley, Thos., Lieutenant, P. A. C. S. By Hon. B. 

B. Douglass 178 

XLIII. — Easley, W. H., Captain, Co. C, 3d Virginia Cavalry . iSi 
XLIV. — Eastham, George. No record. 

XLV. — Edmonds, E. C , Colonel, 38th Virginia Infantry . 185 

XLVI. — Edmondson, H.~C., Private, ist Richmond Howitzers 188 

XLVII. — Ellis, J. T., Lieutenant-Colonel, 19th Virginia Infantry 190 

XLVIIL— Fant, E. L., Lieutenant, 8th Virginia Infantry . . 193 

XLIX.— Fletcher, Jno., Captain, Ashby's Cavalry . . 193 

L.- — Forbes, W. A., Colonel, 14th Tennessee Infantry . 194 
LI. — Ford, C. E., Lieutenant, Stuart's Horse Artillery. By 

Hiram Brovver ........ 203 

LII. — Frazer, p. F., Lieutenant-Colonel, 27th Virginia In- 
fantry 208 

LIIL— FuLKERSON, S. v., Colonel, 37th Virginia Infantry . 210 



CONTENTS. 1 1 

PAGB 

LIV. — FoWLKES, E., Captain, Co. F, nth Virginia Infantry . 222 

223 



LV. — Galt, W., Adjutant, 52d Virginia Infantry . 
LVI. — Garland, S., Brigadier-General, Hill's Division, A. N 

V. By Mrs. CM. Jordan . . . _ . 

LVII. — Garnett, T. S., Colonel, 48th Virginia Infantry . 
LVIII.— Gay, C. W., Private, Danville Artillery. By Captain 

Thos. D. Ransom 

LIX. — Gibbons, S. B., Colonel, loth Virginia Infantry , 
LX. — GiBBS, J. T., Corporal, Rockbridge Artillery 
LXI. — GOODE, E., C olonel, 58th Virginia Infantry . 
LXII. — Grandy, p. H., Lieutenant, North Carolina Infantry 
LXIII. — Green, W. J., Lieutenant-Colonel, 47th Virginia In 

fantry. By Judge Wm. S. Barton 
LXIV.— Grigg, W. p.. Sergeant, Martin's Battery. By J. E 
Christian ........ 

LXV.— Haigh, C. T., Lieutenant, Co. B, 37th North CaroHna 
Infantry. By T. P. Devereux .... 

LXVI. — Hairston, J. A., Private, 24th Virginia Infantry. By 
General J. A. Early ...... 

LXVII. — Hambrick, J. A., Major, 24th Virginia Infantry . 
LXVIII. — Hammond, G. N., Captain, Co. B, ist Virginia Cavalry 
By Colonel John B. Hoge 



227 
2^.8 



241 
246 
247 
248 
251 

251 

254 

257 

259 
261 

263 



LXIX. — Hardy, J. B., Lieutenant, Crescent Regiment, Louisiana 269 

LXX. — Harman, T. L., Lieutenant, Staunton Artillery . . 269 
LXXL — ^Harrison, C . H., Major, nth Virginia Infantry. By 

Colonel R. Harrison 271 

LXXII. — Hart, T. G., Sergeant-Major, 17th Virginia Infantry . 279 

LXXIII. — Hartsfield, A. C, Private, Corps of Cadets . . 280 
LXXIV.— Helm, R. H. No record. 

LXXV.— Heth, J., Lieutenant, ist Virginia Battalion . . 281 
LXXVL— Hunter, H. W., Lieutenant, C. S. Ordnance . 

LXXVII. — Irvine, Alexander. No record. 

LXXVIII. — Jackson, A, E., Adjutant, 29th Tennessee Infantry . 283 
LXXIX. — Jameson, J. H., Captain, Virginia Infantry . . . 2S7 
LXXX. — Jarrell, T. G., Lieutenant, Co. B, 36th Virginia In- 
fantry 288 

LXXXL— Jefferson, T. G., Private, Co. B, Corps of Cadets. By 

Rev. D. W. Shanks 290 

LXXXII. — Johnston, Peyton, Jr., Lieutenant, Fayette Artil- 
lery, By Frank H. Alfriend, Esq 294 



12 CONTENTS. y 

PAGE 

LXXXIII. — Jones, Francis B., Major, 2d Virginia Infantry. By 

J. Peyton Clark, A.M 299 

LXXXIV.— Jones, H. J., Private, Co. D, Corps of Cadets , .310, 

LXXXV.— Keeling, R. H., Captain, 13th Alabama Infantry . 312 
LXXXVI. — Keiter, Wm., Captain, Tennessee Artillery . . 313 
LXXXVII.— Kent, Jas. R., Lieutenant, Co. E, 24th Virginia In- 
fantry 315 

LXXXVIII.— KiNCHELOE, J. M., Adjutant, 17th Tennessee In- 
fantry 316 

LXXXIX.— KiNNEY, T. C, Lieutenant, Staff General Edward 

Johnson 318 

XC. — KiRBY, Edmund, Lieutenant-Colonel, 58th North 

Carolina Infantry 319 

XCI. — Lackland, Francis, Lieutenant-Colonel, 2d Virginia 

Infantry . . _ 323 

XCII. — Langhorne, J. K., Private, 2d Virginia Cavalry . 327 
XCIIL — Lati me r, J. W., M ajor, Andrews's Battalion . . 328 
XCIV.— Lauck, C. E., Lieutenant, 4th Virginia Infantry , 335 
@ XCV. — Lee, W. F., Lieutenant-Colonel, 33d Virginia In- 
fantry 338 

XCVI. — Leftwich, J. C, Private, Co. I, 2d Virginia Cavalry 341 
XCVII. — Logan, R., Captain, Co. H, 14th Virginia Infantry. 

By N. T. Green 343 

XCVIIL— LVLE, A., Private, Mosby's Cavalry, By Rev. H. C. 

Alexander, D.D 346 

XCIX. — Macon, Edgar, Lieutenant, Thomas Artillery . 348 
C. — Macon, Miles C, Captain, Fayette Artillery . . 349 
^■CI ..— Magruder, Jno. B., Colonel, 57th Virginia In- 
fantry 350 

CII. — Mallory, F., Colonel, 55th Virginia Infantry. By 

Dr. Samuel Selden 351 

CIII. — Marr, J. Q., Captain, Warrenton Rifles . . . 359 
CIV. — Marshall, J. K. , Colonel, 52d North Carolina In- 

fantry '. 7~ 369 

CV. — Mathews, W. T., Private, 3d Richmond Howitzers 372 

CVL— McCance, R. G., Private, Otey Battery . . -373 

CVI I.— McDonald, C. W., A. D. C. General Elzey . . 377 

CVIIL— McDowell, W. H., Private, Co. B, Corps of Cadets 379 

CIX.— McKiNNEY, R. M., Colonel, 15th North Carolina 

Infantry . \ 380 

ex. — Mears, L. W., Private, Old Dominion Dragoons . 383 



CONTENTS. 13 

PAGE 

CXI. — Meem, J. L., Captain and A. A. G., Garland's Brigade. 

By C. L. Mosby 383 

CXII. — MoFFETT, J. S., Private, 4th Virginia Infantry , . 387 
CXIII. — Montague, A. J., Private, Co. C, 55th Virginia In- 
fantry. By Geo. D. Nicholson .... 387 
CXIV.— Moore, C. W., Drill-master, C. S. A, . . . 390 
fe*"^ CXV. — Morgan, E. F., Major, 8th Georgia Battalion . . 390 
CXVI.— Morgan, W. H., Captain, Co. F, 21st Virginia In- 
fantry. By Captain J. D. Young .... 392 

CXVII. — Neff, Jno. F ., Colonel, 33d Virginia Infantry. By 

Captain D-ll. Walton 396 

CXVIII. — Niemeyer, J. C, Lieutenant, Co. I, 9th Virginia In- 
fantry 406 

CXIX. — Norris, C. R., Acting Captain, 27th Virginia In- 
fantry. By C. Shafer 408 

CXX. — Oliver, J. M., Captain, 2ist Virginia Infantry . . 410 
CXXI.— Otey, G. G., Captain, Otey Battery , . . .412 

CXXIL— Park, W. K., Lieutenant, C. S. Engineers . . 416 

CXXIII. — Parran, W. S., Surgeon, Courtney's Battery . . 420 

CXXIV. — Pattox, G. S., Colonel, 22d Virginia Infantry . . 422 

CXXV. — Patton, W. T., Colonel, 7th Virginia Infantry . 425 

CXXVI. — Pendleton, Ed., Lieutenant, Co. C, nth Virginia 

Cavalry ......... 430 

@ CXXVIL — Petway, O. C, Colonel, 35th North Carolina Infantry 432 

CXXVIII.— Preston, W. C. Cadet 433 

CXXIX. — Price, George S., Private, Co. C, 2d Virginia Cav- 
alry 435 

CXXX. — Randolph, W. H., Captain, 4th Virginia Infantry . 435 
CXXXI. — Rhodes, E. A., Lieutenant, nth North Carolina In- 
fantry 436 

CXXXII. — Rice, T. C, Lieutenant, 3d Virginia Cavalry . . 439 
CXXXIII. — Richardson, J. Q., Major, 52d North Carolina In- 
fantry .... 440 

CXXXIV.— Rodes, R. E., Major-General, A. N. V. By Major 

Green Peyton 440 

CXXXV.— Rogers, A. L., Major, Artillery, C. S. A. . . . 458 

CXXXVL— Scales, J. R., Captain, Co. H, 54th Virginia Infantry 461 
CXXXVIL— Selden, W. B., Lieutenant, Artillery, C. S. A. By 

James Barron Hope 463 



14 CONTENTS. ^ 

PACB 

CXXXVIIL— Simpson, R. H., Major, 17th Virginia Infantry. By 

S. S. Turner 475 

CXXXIX.— Speed, H. G., Private, ist North Carolina Cavalry , 482 

A CXL. — Smith, F. W. , Lieutenant-Colonel, Artillery, C. S. A. 484 

CXLI. — Stanard, J. B., Private, Co. D, Corps of Cadets . 494 

CXLII. — Starke, E. B., Adjutant, 7th Virginia Infantry . 495 

CXLIII. — Stewart, B. F., Lieutenant, 40th Virginia Infantry . 496 

CXLIV. — Stone, Nolan, Sergeant, Co. B, ist Regiment C. S. 

Engineers 496 

CXLV. — Strange, J. B., Colonel, 19th Virginia Infantry . 498 

CXLVI . —Stuart, W. D., Colonel, 56th Virginia Infantry . 502 

CXLVII.— SuDDOTH, F. M., Adjutant, 24th Virginia Infantry . 505 
CXLVIII. — Sydnor, R. D. B., Lieutenant, Co. B, 40th Virginia 

Infantry 506 

CXLIX.— Tabb, W. H., Captain, ist Virginia Infantry . . 508 
CL. — Taylor, C, Lieutenant. No record, 
CLI. — Taylor, Thos. S., Captain, Co. D, 24th Virginia In- 
fantry 508 

CLII. — Terrill, J. B., Brigadier-General, A. N. V. . . 512 

CLIII. — Terry, C. W,, Private, Virginia Infantry . . . 516 
CLIV.— Thomas, L. M., Assistant Adjutant-General, Staff 

General B. H. Helm 516 

3a "^ .CLV. — Thomson, J. W., Major, Horse Artillery, Rosser's 

Division ......... 518 

CLVI. — Tredway, T. B., Sergeant, Virginia Infantry . . 519 
CLVII. — Trout, E. S., Captain, Co. H, 52d Virginia Infantry. 

By Dr. A. M. Fauntleroy ..... 520 

CLVIII. — Tyler, Samuel, Lieutenant, C. S. Engineers . . 522 

CLIX. — Urquhart, C. F., Major, 3d Virginia Infantry. By 

R. W. Burges 523 

CLX.— Waller, W. M., Lieutenant, Co. E, 2d Virginia 

Cavalry 526 

CLXL— Walthall, J. A., Adjutant. No record. 

CLXIL— Warwick, B., Lieutenant, Staff General H. A. Wise 527 

CLXIIL— Watkins, W. E., Orderly Sergeant, Alright's Battery 530 
CLXIV.— Wheatley, T. T., Major. No record. 
CLXV.— Wheelwright, J. C, Private, Co. C, Corps of 

Cadets. By D. C. Wirt 531 

CLXVL— WiLLCOX, J. W., Sergeant, Charles City Dragoons . 534 

CLXVIL — Williams, L. B., Co lonel, ist Virginia Infantry . 535 

CLXVIIL— Wilson, N. C, Major, 28th Virginia Infantry . . 536 



CONTENTS. jt 

PAGE 

CLXIX.— WoRSHAM, P. H., Sergeant-Major, 3d Virginia Cavalry . 539 
CLXX.— Wright, T. C, Sergeant-Major, 37th North Carolina In- 
fantry 541 



Discourse on the Life and Character of Lieutenant-Gen- 

ERAL T. J. Jackson. By General F. H. Smith, LL.D. . . 543 



The Battle of New Market, May 15, 1864. By General F. 

H. Smith, LL.D. . . , 562 



Memorial Poem. By James Barron Hope, Esq. . . ' . .574 



MEMORIAL, 

VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 



LOUIS B. ADIE, 

OF LOUDON COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, MOSBY'S CAVALRY. 

No one of the youthful martyr-heroes in our struggle 
for liberty was animated by a purer purpose and nobler 
patriotism, or, in a career so brief, better maintained the 
honor of the Virginia Military Institute, than Louis B. Adie. 

He was born at Leesburg, Loudon County, Virginia, on 
the 2 1st of July, 1844. His father, the Rev. George Adie, 
was a devoted and highly-esteemed clergyman of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, and for many years Rector of St. 
James's Church at that place. His mother was the daughter 
of the Hon. Cuthbert Powell, who, very acceptably to his 
constituents, represented the Loudon District in the Con- 
gress of 1841-42, which was remarkable for the number of 
men distinguished for their integrity and ability who were 
comprised among its members. His great-grandfathers were 
Colonel Levin Powell, of Loudon County, and Colonel 
Charles Simms, of Alexandria, Virginia. They were both 
officers of good repute in the Revolutionary War, and both 
members of the Virginia Convention which ratified that Fed- 
eral Constitution which in the purer days of the Republic 
had rapidly advanced its prosperity and greatness, and which, 
in corrupt times, by usurpation, and the perversion and abuse 

2 17 



1 8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of its powers, was employed to involve their State and their 
posterity in a calamitous war. Colonel Powell was also a 
highly-respected member of the Congress of the United 
States in about the year i8oo. It may be mentioned in illus- 
tration of the character of the political principles and love of 
liberty which he transmitted to his posterity, that forty-eight 
of his descendants were in the military service of the Con- 
federate States, nine of whom proved their devotion to the 
cause by the sacrifice of their lives. Thus nurtured, young 
Adie was ready for the crisis of 1861. He was then, at the 
age of sixteen, quietly engaged in the pursuit of his studies 
at the Leesburg Academy, — an intelligent, calm, resolute, 
affectionate, dutiful boy. He threw aside his books to find 
an outlet for his eager desire for active usefulness in the posi- 
tion of courier to General D. H. Hill, then in command at 
that place. When his widowed mother objected to his enter- 
ing the ranks because of his youth, he met the objection by 
the characteristic argument, that he was old enough for mili- 
tary service, and if he were killed, a boy's life would be a less 
loss to the State than a man's. By the persuasion of his 
friends, he was induced to defer the gratification of his eager 
desire for military service until prepared for it by the training 
of the Virginia Military Institute. He accordingly, on the 
1 8th day of March, 1863, became a cadet of that institution. 
While there, by his correct deportment and studious habits, 
he secured the approval of his teachers ; and by his amiable 
and affectionate disposition, and his manly and honorable 
bearing, he won the confidence and attachment of his com- 
panions. But the quiet of his academic studies was invaded 
by the clash of arms, and his spirit chafed under a sense of 
his own inaction. He heard of the battles in which the brave 
and patriotic young men of the country were struggling to 
drive back the invaders of Virginia, and became impatient to 
participate. He therefore left the Institute, and returned home 
to make immediate preparations for active service. Sheridan 
was then pressing his devastating march up the beautiful 
valley of the Shenandoah. There was devolved upon Col- 



LOUIS B. A DIE. 



19 



onel Mosby and his command the important duty to obstruct 
his progress by hanging upon the rear of his forces and 
cutting off his supplies. The character of the leader and of 
the service, inciting to dashing and brilliant enterprise, was 
peculiarly fitted to fire the imaginations and stir the hearts of 
the brave young men of the land. Young Adie felt and 
yielded to their influence, and early in the winter of 1864 
attached himself to Colonel Mosby's command as a member 
of the company of Captain Alfred Glasscock, of Fauquier. 
He threw all the energies of his nature into its duties. In 
its dashing and dangerous enterprises he was an active partici- 
pant. It was in one of these, in the middle of August, 1864, 
that his brilliant and brief career was brought to its fatal close. 
A plan was laid for the capture of a supply-train, which, under 
an infantry and cavalry escort, was making its way to Sheri- 
dan's army. Young Adie was not among those detailed to 
accomplish it. But with his friend, A. H. Nott, now of Alex- 
andria, and Captain Glasscock, he volunteered for the service. 
The infantry and cavalry escort was scattered before the 
charge of our men; but the success was won by the sacrifice 
of some of the most gallant young men of the command. 
Among them was Louis B. Adie. It is difficult to learn with 
perfect accuracy, even from those engaged, the details of a 
battle or a skirmish. In the account which has been fur- 
nished by Captain Glasscock of the circumstances of Louis 
Adie's death, he states that " he fell while charging at the 
head of the company near Berryville, Virginia. Before receiv- 
ing the fatal shot he killed two of the enemy with his revolver, 
and, pressing the third one hard, he fell under the fire of an 
infantry company, which arose from behind a stone wall." 
Whatever uncertainty there may be of the details of the 
action, and of his participation in it, it is certain they were 
such as to secure from his comrades their high admiration of 
his conduct and their profound regret for his death. His 
captain declares of him, " I always regarded Adie as the 
very type of chivalry, the soul of courage, and the embodi- 
ment of all the characteristics which make a true soldier." 



20 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

To that, Colonel Mosby adds this testimony : " I esteemed 
him very highly as a very high-toned, virtuous youth, as well 
as a brave soldier." His remains repose in the quiet cemetery 
of his native town. 

" How sleep the brave who sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes blest! 
When Spring, with dewy fingers cold. 
Returns to deck their hallow'd mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod." 

Charles L. Powell, A.M. 



THOMAS ALEXANDER, 

OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, CO. "C,"40TH 
VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Thomas Alexander, son of Thomas B. Alexander, was 
born in Northumberland County, Virginia, in 1843. Became 
a cadet in the Virginia Military Institute in August, 1859. 
Entered the service of the Confederate States in April, 1861, 
when the corps of cadets was ordered to Richmond. Gradu- 
ated on the 6th'of December, 1861. Appointed first lieuten- 
ant, Co. " C," 40th Virginia. Killed on the i8th of August, 
1864, in the battles in front of Petersburg, whilst gallantly 
leading his company against the works of the enemy. He 
was ever kind and generous, and was universally esteemed 
and beloved by his friends and comrades. As an officer he 
was untiring in the discharge of his duties; was ever foremost 
in the hour of danger, inspiring those around him by his 
splendid courage and chivalrous bearing. 



JAMES W. ALLEN. 2 1 



JAMES W. ALLEN, 

OF BEDFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 2D REGIMENT VIRGINIA 
VOLUNTEERS, " STONEWALL BRIGADE." 

The subject of our memoir, James Walkinshaw Allen, 
was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, July 2, 1829, and 
was eldest son of the Hon. Robert Allen, who represented 
that district in Congress. 

In 1839, Robert Allen and family moved to Bedford County, 
Virginia, James at that time being ten years old. For the 
next four years he was sent to a school in the neighborhood, 
and the three following to New London Academy. While on 
a visit home from New London he had the misfortune to lose 
his right eye, from a wound received from the fragment of a 
percussion-cap. From New London Academy he went to the 
Virginia Military Institute, in 1846, being then just seventeen, 
and in 1849, when twenty, he graduated with distinction. 

In 185 1, we find him teaching a large classical school at 
Piedmont Institute, in Liberty, resigning this place for an ap- 
pointment as Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute in 1852, — and returning home in 1855 
to take charge of his father's farm. He married in February, 
1856, Miss Julia A. Pendleton, of Jefferson County, Virginia, 
and the following year moved to a farm he had purchased 
near Summit Point, in Jefferson County, Va., where he lived 
quietly farming whilst the great political storm was brewing, 
prior to the outburst in 1S61. In politics he was, at that time, 
a Union man. 

Soon after the John Brown raid upon Harper's Ferry, in 
1859, the volunteer companies of Jefferson, Berkeley, and 
Clarke formed themselves into a regiment, of which James W. 
Allen, although comparatively a stranger to all, and not a 
candidate, being absent from the meeting, was elected colonel. 
This regiment was numbered as the ist until the first year of 



22 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

the war, when its number was changed to the 2d, the volun- 
teer regiment from Richmond being put as the 1st. When it 
was determined, early in i86i, to seize the arms and armory 
at Harper's Ferry, orders were sent Colonel Allen by the 
militia general of the district, from Staunton, to assemble his 
regiment and march to a point near the Ferry, and there await 
further orders. Hearing nothing further. Colonel Allen sent 
his quartermaster to Winchester to get instructions. After 
much needless delay the general was gotten as far as Charles- 
town, where he insisted on stopping a short while. The 
quartermaster waited at the door in the carriage an hour or 
more, and then received a message from the general saying 
he was too much exhausted to proceed that night, but to 
tell Colonel Allen to do whatever he thought best under the 
circumstances. 

Upon the receipt of this message Colonel Allen marched 
upon the village at once. Not soon enough, however, to pre- 
vent the loss of a great deal of war material, machinery for the 
manufacture of arms, and arms, but in time to save a vast deal, 
which was afterwards used with great success during our pro- 
tracted struggle. All this material could have been saved but 
for these needless delays in sending forward the necessary 
orders. 

Soon after this, General T. J. Jackson, then a colonel, was 
sent to take command of the troops at Harper's Ferry, and 
there formed the celebrated " Stonewall Brigade." Very soon 
after the organization of the brigade, the 2d Regiment became 
conspicuous for its discipline, and was acknowledged to be 
the best-drilled regiment in the Valley. 

At the first battle of Manassas, when the brigade was drawn 
up in line of battle, and just before the order to advance was 
given. Colonel Allen was totally deprived of sight by being 
struck, in his only remaining eye, by a limb of a pine cut 
off by a shell. His regiment, being deprived of its commander 
at this crisis, was for a time disorganized, and its commander 
was afterwards subject to unjust aspersion, which subsequent 
events wholly removed. The brigade returned with General 



JAMES W. ALLEN. 23 

Jackson to the Valley in the winter of 1861, and the next we 
heard about the 2d and its commander was in the memorable 
battle of Kernstown, Sunday, March 23, 1862, where Jackson 
with a handful of men fought odds of four to one all day, and 
retired when night came without being pursued, leaving the 
enemy so shattered that they were unable to move for some 
days. We only quote the account of the battle as' regards 
this regiment. It says, — 

" Where all acted so gallantly and fought so bravely it is 
hard to particularize, but a few instances deserve especial men- 
tion. It is needless to say General Jackson acted bravely ; he 
was in the thickest of the fight, and exposed to every danger. 
A braver man God never made. 

" Colonel Allen, of the 2d Virginia, distinguished himself 
Three times the flag of the 2d Virginia was shot down and the 
staff shot away. Colonel Allen, the masses of the enemy 
close upon him, jumped from his horse and carried the colors 
from the field." 

Colonel Allen was with General Jackson in all his move- 
ments in the celebrated campaign against Fremont, Banks, 
and Milroy, prior to the seven days' fight around Richmond, 
and when Banks was driven through Winchester, the 2d Regi- 
ment had the advance along Main Street. Just as the head 
of the regiment got opposite Taylor's Hotel, General Jackson 
rode up, pressing, as he was accustomed to, eagerly forward. 
The rear of the enemy being about two hundred yards off, as- 
cending the hill, Colonel Allen urged the general to pause an 
instant, as he thought the rear were about to deliver their fire. 
This he did. A moment afterwards a volley swept the street, 
with no harm to the general. 

In June, 1862, we find all eyes turned towards Richmond. 
McClellan had gradually drawn near the devoted city, and the 
fast-approaching struggle would decide its fate, and with it, it 
was thought, the fate of our young Confederacy. 

Quietly General Jackson with his whole command steals 
from the Valley, and on the 26th of June we find him near 
Richmond, ready on the 27th to strike McClcllan's right, the 



24 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

blow at Gaines's Mill, by which his line was broken, without 
our own men at Richmond even knowing of his arrival. 

The following description of the attack on the fortifications 
at Gaines's Mill, and the final carrying of them by the "Stone- 
wall Brigade," is given by a distinguished Confederate general 
who was an eye-witness of this attack in which Colonel Allen 
was killed. He says, — 

"I soon observed a Confederate brigade issue from the 
woods into the field, about half a mile wide, which was in 
front of the works, for the purpose of charging the enemy's 
breastworks, which were flanked by heavy batteries. As soon 
as the brigade made its appearance the batteries opened a 
heavy fire, which the brigade disregarded until it reached the 
middle of the field. Here the fire became so severe that the 
brigade was forced to retreat. After a short interval it re- 
newed the attack and again was compelled by the heavy fire 
to retire. After a second pause a third attempt was made, 
and, as I supposed, by the same brigade, but afterwards I was 
corrected in this by General Jackson's adjutant-general, who 
said the first two attacks were made by a North Carolina bri- 
gade, and the third by a Georgia brigade. This failed also, 
in consequence of the withering fire. I now thought the 
battle lost, and with it the Confederate cause. But after an- 
other short delay, the same brigade, as I supposed, but which 
the adjutant-general assured me was the 'Stonewall Brigade,' 
rushed out of the woods. And, although the fire from the 
batteries was as terrible as before, there was not a moment's 
pause or hesitation along the whole line ; it never faltered an 
instant, but pressed on until the works were carried, the bat- 
teries captured, and the enemy's line broken." This was the 
turning-point of the battle, and here McClellan received a 
blow from which he never recovered. 

In this glorious charge of the immortal "Stonewall Brigade," 
up near the enemy's works. Colonel James W. Allen, leading 
his command, sealed his patriotism to his State and his devo- 
tion to a just cause with his life's blood. Could a more 
glorious death be desired ? 



JAMES W. ALLEN. 2$ 

From the " Richmond Enquirer" of the 29th we get the 
following : 

" Among the killed in the desperate fight of Friday after- 
noon was Colonel James W. Allen, of the 2d Regiment Vir- 
ginia Volunteers. He was shot through the head, and ex- 
pired almost instantly. At the time he received the fatal shot 
he was acting brigadier-general of Jackson's 'Stonewall Bri- 
gade.' His body was brought to this city yesterday morning, 
and during the day was deposited at Hollywood Cemetery." 

Since then his remains have been removed to the cemetery 
at Liberty, Virginia, near his old home, and the beautiful 
Peaks of Otter he knew and loved so well. 

His commission had been made out as brigadier-general, 
but had not been forwarded to him. His widow survived 
him only two years, and left an only son. 

Colonel Allen was six feet three inches in height, of com- 
manding presence, of graceful, soldierly carriage, handsome, 
and of most pleasant address. With all who knew him he 
was popular, beloved, and respected. At the time of his 
death he was thirty-three years old within a few days. 

This memoir can be no more appropriately closed than 
by quoting General Winder's official report of the battle of 
Gaines's Mill. He says, — 

"The 2d and 5th Regiments of Virginia Volunteers moved 
so rapidly they got in advance of the line, receiving a heavy 
fire, which thinned their ranks, depriving them of some of their 
best officers. Nothing daunted, they held their ground until 
the line came up, and moved on with the same impetuosity 
and determination as before. Here that gallant officer. Colo- 
nel James W, Allen, 2d Regiment, fell mortally wounded 
whilst leading his command in the charge. 

" He was a true soldier and gentleman, whose loss to his 
regiment, country, and friends will be long mourned, though 
falling in so sacred a cause. His patriotism and noble char- 
acter had endeared him to all. 

" ' He sleeps the sleep of our noble slain. 
Proudly and peacefully.' " 



26 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



ROBERT C. ALLEN, 

OF SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 28tH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Robert Clotworthv Allen, the subject of this brief me- 
moir, was born in Shenandoah County, Virginia, on the 22d 
day of June, 1834. His paternal grandfather and his father 
were both prominent lawyers and public men. The former, 
James Allen, was one of the Judges of the old General Court 
of Virginia. The latter, Robert Allen, represented the She- 
nandoah District three terms in the United States Congress. 
In 1839 he removed to Bedford, from which county his son, 
Robert C. Allen, entered the Institute July 31, 185 i, grad- 
uating July 4, 1855. 

Having completed his collegiate course, Robert C. Allen 
studied law, Shortly after beginning the practice of his pro- 
fession he formed a copartnership with William Watts, of 
Roanoke County, and in 1857 removed to Salem. In Feb- 
ruary, 1 861, he married Miss Mary E. Wingfield, daughter of 
Judge G. A. Wingfield, of Bedford County. 

The difficulties between the North and South were now 
about to find their solution in civil war. The subject of this 
memoir was among the foremost to enlist in the service of his 
native State. In April, 1861, he was elected captain of a vol- 
unteer company raised in Roanoke County, but before it took 
the field he was commissioned major in the volunteer army 
of Virginia, and when the 28th Regiment of Virginia Infantry 
was organized, at Lynchburg, in May, 1861, was assigned to 
it. The other field officers of the 28th at its organization 
were, Colonel Robert T. Preston, of Montgomery County, 
and Lieutenant-Colonel Robert S. Burks, of Botetourt County. 
At first the regiment was composed of companies from the 
counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Bedford, Craig, and Camp- 
bell. After a short time the companies from Campbell were 
transferred to another regiment, and the 28th, as organized 



ROBERT C. ALLEN. 



27 



for the war, was composed of companies from the other four 
counties. 

Towards the end of May, 1861, the 28th was ordered from 
Lynchburg to Manassas Junction. To perfect the raw troops 
of the regiment in discipline and drill became now a matter 
of the first importance, for they were in the presence of the 
enemy, whose advance was daily looked for. Major Allen 
was untiring in the discharge of his duties. He had few 
superiors as a disciplinarian and tactician. Citizen soldiers, 
practically ignorant of the war, are slow to appreciate the ne- 
cessity for the labor and restraints imposed upon them when 
called into the active service of the field. They are apt to 
regard what is essential to secure the efficiency of an army as 
unwarrantable military tyranny. Major Allen had this feel- 
ing to contend with. He was looked upon by many in the 
regiment as unnecessarily rigid and exacting. The subse- 
quent events of the war, however, justified his course to those 
who did not appreciate it at first, for laxity of discipline proved 
the bane of the Confederate armies. 

In the operations of a large army a regiment loses to a great 
extent its individuality. A detailed account, therefore, of the 
services of a regiment under such circumstances would be the 
history of the brigade and division to which it belonged. As 
it is not contemplated in this short memoir to compile such a 
history, brief mention only will be made of the battles 'in 
which the 28th participated. It was first under fire at Ma- 
nassas, July 21, 1 861. Brought into action late in the day, it 
sustained but slight loss. Major Allen was at his post 
throughout the engagement. He shared in the various ser- 
vices rendered by his command during the ensuing fall and 
winter, and at the reorganization of the army under the pro- 
visions of the "Conscription Law" was elected colonel of the 
28th, May 3, 1862. William Watts, of Roanoke County, was 
elected lieutenant-colonel, and N. C. Wilson, of Craig County, 
major, — all of whom at once entered upon the duties of their 
offices. The brigade to which the 28th now belonged was com- 
manded by General Pickett; the division by General Longstreet. 



28 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

The battle of Williamsburg was fought on the 5th of May, 
1862. A drenching rain fell all through the day. Towards 
night, when in the advance, the supports to the right and left 
of the 28th were withdrawn. Owing to the dense fog and 
smoke which enveloped the field the order directing Colonel 
Allen to retire was miscarried, and the first intimation he had 
of his isolation was on discovering the enemy a short distance 
in his rear. He succeeded in extricating his command from its 
perilous position in perfect order, proving himself worthy of 
the confidence which his company officers had bestowed in 
electing him their colonel. 

From Williamsburg the Confederate army retired to the 
defenses of Richmond. Of the battles below Richmond, in 
the summer of 1862, the 28th participated in those of Seven 
Pines, Gaines's Mill, and Frasier's Farm. Colonel Allen 
commanded his regiment in the first two. At Gaines's Mill he 
was severely bruised by a piece of shell, which disabled him for 
several days. His brother. Colonel James W. Allen, lost his life 
in this engagement. He was at the head of his regiment in 
the race after Pope in August, 1862, and was again severely 
bruised in the engagement of August 30, at Manassas, but 
did not quit his command. In September, shortly after cross- 
ing the Potomac into Maryland, he was prostrated by a severe 
attack of sickness, and made his way back to Virginia. Dur- 
ing his absence the battles of Boonsboro' and Sharpsburg were 
fought, and the army recrossed the river into Virginia. 

The beginning of winter found the hostile armies confront- 
ing one another at Fredericksburg. The battle of Fredericks- 
burg was fought on the 13th of December, 1862. The 28th 
was on the lines, but did not become engaged. 

This battle closed the memorable campaign of 1862 of the 
Army of Northern Virginia. The 28th had been engaged in 
eight pitched battles, and in every one, except the last, sus- 
tained heavy loss. 

During the year 1862 the organization of the Army of 
Northern Virginia into corps was perfected, and the opening 
of the campaign of 1863 found the 28th attached to Garnett's 



ROBERT C. ALLEN. 



29 



Brigade, of Pickett's Division, of Longstreet's Corps. In Feb- 
ruary, 1863, Pickett's Division was ordered to the south side 
of James River. During the spring Garnett's Brigade was for 
some weeks in North Carolina. The division did not rejoin 
the main army until after the battle of Chancellorsville. 

In June, 1863, the army of Northern Virginia moved into 
Maryland and Pennsylvania. The battle of Gettysburg was 
fought on the ist, 2d, and 3d days of July, 1863. Pick- 
ett's Virginia Division was not engaged until the 3d, having 
been left at Chambershurg to guard the rear of the army. 
The evening of that day it made the assault on Cemetery 
Hill, the memory of which will " survive as long as the 
language of glorious deeds is read in this world." In that 
desperate charge Colonel Allen advanced up the slopes, 
through the storm of shot and shell, in front of his regiment, 
encouraging his men both by his words and heroic example. 
When within a few yards of the cemetery wall, just as the 
works of the enemy were carried, he fell pierced through the 
brain by a musket-ball. An accomplished officer and gallant 
soldier, he yielded up his life on the altar of his country at the 
supreme moment of that country's destiny. A few minutes 
after his fall, the fragments of Pickett's Division, unsupported 
and almost surrounded, were forced from the Hill, to storm 
which had cost so many noble lives. 



30 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



JOHN S. ARMISTEAD, 

OF ELIZABETH CITY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, C. S. ENGINEERS. 

John S. Armistead, son of John, and Jean Armistead, was 
born in Elizabeth City County, Virginia, on the loth of Jan- 
uary, 1836. His boyhood passed without remarkable inci- 
dent, nor can it be said that he gave promise of any brilliant 
or extraordinary career. His father, who had not enjoyed 
the advantages of a good education himself, was anxious that 
his children should be as well educated as circumstances 
would allow, and therefore sent him to an old field school at 
the early age of five. From that time until he was sixteen 
he stood in most wholesorhe fear of the teacher. Often, while 
studying his lessons, would he break out into tears and be- 
seech his parents to write an excuse for the next day's lessons ; 
and this, too, not because he was averse to study, or unable to 
learn, but simply through the fear that he might possibly miss 
his lesson and be punished. There were two traits of char- 
acter that began to develop themselves in him at a very early 
age : the one, an almost perfect obedience to his parents' com- 
mands; and the other, a persistent, indomitable obstinacy. 
His mother, who was a woman of great firmness herself, used 
to declare that if John wanted to do anything, the privilege 
had as well be granted at once, for while he would not do 
anything without permission, he would never desist from his 
efforts to obtain that permission. One instance illustrative 
of this self-will and resolute purpose would not perhaps be 
out of place. 

As boys often will do, he and his brother had fallen out 
about some trivial affair, and, as his brother was quick and 
impetuous, a tussle ensued between them. John concluded 
that his father was the proper person to settle the difficulty, 
and resolved to take his brother to him, then down at the 
creek, some two hundred yards off, taking up oysters for 



JOHN S. ARMISTEAD. 3 I 

breakfast. He therefore set to work to put his purpose 
into execution ; although resisted, fought, hammered most 
furiously by his brother, who was only two years his junior, 
he manfully refrained from returning the blows, but perse- 
veringly continued his efforts until he had accomplished his 
purpose. 

He professed religion at the age of fifteen, and connected 
himself with Methodist Episcopal Church South, in which he 
had been reared, continuing a member thereof until his death. 
His religion, while it did not partake of fanaticism, or even 
enthusiasm, was nevertheless deep and fervent. It con- 
trolled his thoughts, restrained his passions, and modeled his 
conduct. 

At school he displayed considerable talent for mathe- 
matics, and was fond of the general literature of our standard 
"Readers," but he had neither aptitude nor fondness for the 
languages. 

He was entered as cadet of the Military Institute in the 
summer of 1855, and graduated three years afterwards. But 
his standing was much lower than his friends had hoped for 
and had good reason to expect. After his return home, the 
district free school was tendered him, and as it was convenient 
to his home, he accepted and retained it until the opening of 
the war. As a teacher he gave the most perfect satisfaction 
to the parents, and was fondly loved by his pupils. 

In November of 1858, he was married to Miss Diana W. 
Smith, of his native tov/n. His married relations were of the 
most pleasant kind, and to perfect his bliss one son was born 
to them in December, 1859. This son, who died very sud- 
denly, in May, 1865, was the only fruit of their marriage. 

Immediately upon the secession of Virginia, Mr. Armis- 
TEAD tendered his services to his native State, and was ordered 
to duty as drill-master at the camp of instruction, near Norfolk, 
Virginia. After serving in that capacity for several months, 
he was assigned to the Engineer department, under Major F. 
W. Jett, and ordered to duty around Dinner's Point, Nanse- 
mond River, and the contiguous country. In this position he 



32 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

remained until the latter part of March, 1862, when he ob- 
tained a furlough to visit his parents, who were then refugees 
in Williamsburg. Never was there a happier reunion. For 
the first time since they had been driven from their homes the 
preceding May the whole family were gathered together, — 
motiier, father, sister, brother, wife, and child were all there. 
Lieutenant A. was then the picture of robust health. He 
stood about five feet ten inches in height, and weighed two 
hundred pounds. Never so happy as in the home-circle, 
he seemed now to revel in the strange bliss of this short re- 
union. Perhaps within the whole borders of the Southern 
States there was hardly a happier household. Little did they 
dream of the dark cloud that was so soon to envelop them. 
Just before retiring, on the night of April i, he remarked 
that he felt the glow of physical health, his .spirits were in 
unison with the body, and he was as happy as it was possible 
to be under the circumstances of war. Ah, fatal delusion! 
never was there a greater error. Before the morning dawned 
he awoke his wife and complained of being cold. A stupor 
seemed even then to have set in upon him, and from it he 
never fully aroused. It was soon discovered that the ex- 
posure of camp-life had brought on a case of malignant 
typhoid fever, resulting almost immediately in congestion of 
the brain, and producing death in less than twenty-four hours 
from the time that he was taken. At one o'clock on the 
morning of April 3 he died. 

With the exception of the brother before referred to, and 
whom he tenderly loved, all whom he held dearest were with 
him in this last hour of human need. He was interred in the 
family burying-ground of Colonel R. H. Armistead, of Wil- 
liamsburg, where his bones still rest. 

In appearance Lieutenant Armistead was stout and pleth- 
oric, straight in stature, but lazy in his carriage, and care- 
less in his dress. He was good-natured to a fault, yet none 
were readier to resent an insult or an attempt at imposition. 
He was idle and indolent in his habits, and for that reason 
never stood well in his classes. His kindness of heart was 



JAMES L. ASHBY. 33 

almost proverbial ; indeed, he had not been long at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute before his fellow-cadets dubbed him 
"Pater," and by that name he was always known among them. 
There was one weakness which he could never overcome, and 
that was a fondness for the chase. Rabbit-hunting, raccoon- 
hunting, fox-hunting, or any kind of hunting in which he did 
not have to carry a gun, — that was too much like labor. 

His mother and father both died during the war, the former 
in Lynchburg and the latter in Liberty. 



JAMES L. ASHBY, 

OF CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " D," 6tH VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

James L. Ashby, son of Buckner and Sophia G. Ashby, was 
born in Clarke County, Virginia, on 6th of November, 1831. 
His boyhood life, spent on his father's farm and at neighbor- 
hood schools, was uneventful. In his seventeenth year, re- 
ceiving an appointment to a cadetship in the Virginia Military 
Institute, he entered that school on the 30th of July, 1848, 
pursued the prescribed course of study during a period of 
four years, and was graduated on the 4th of July, 1852. After 
a short rest at home, young Ashby emigrated to St. Joseph, 
Missouri, and there entered a corps of engineers in the ser- 
vice of the St. Joseph and Hannibal Railroad Company, with 
whom he remained for some time, engaged in preliminary 
surveys in the Territory of Kansas, and on the construction 
of the above-mentioned railroad. In the many difficulties 
arising in that Territory between anti- and pro-slavery men, 
Ashby took a conspicuous part. Soon becoming wearied of 
rough Western life, he returned to his native State, and went 
into the milling business in Warren County, where he re- 
mained pursuing his quiet avocation until the breaking out 
of the war in 1861. In the fall of that year he was called to 

3 



34 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Winchester, and assigned to duty, by General Jackson, as a 
drill-master to the raw troops assembled there. Performing 
with care and alacrity the duties of his office, he did efficient 
service in assisting to discipline the rude and disorganized 
masses of Southern volunteers who were flocking to that 
point. On the 12th of March, 1862, the need of drill-masters 
no longer existing, he joined the "Clarke Cavalry," Co. " D," 
6th Virginia Regiment, as a private, and in this capacity 
served with his regiment in the division of the gallant J. E. 
B. Stuart, and participated in every battle in which it was 
engaged, until June 11, 1864. On that day Co. "D" was 
ordered to charge and take a battery of the Federal forces, 
near Trevyllian Station, Virginia; gallantly and successfully 
performed the duty. In the desperate counter-charge made 
by the enemy in endeavor to retake the battery, James Ashby 
fell dead, shot through the head with a bullet. Though 
" only a private," his record as a soldier compares favorably 
with many in higher station. Of undoubted courage, he was 
not unworthy to bear the name of Ashby, a name which his 
native Valley proudly claims as that of the noblest, bravest 
soldier, "Ashby, the peerless one," who raised his arm in 
defense of his home and the right. 



JOHN ^V. ASHBY, 

OF CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO." I," 1 2TH VIRGINIA CAVALRY. 

John W. Ashby, second son of Buckner and Sophia G. 
Ashby, was born near White Post, Clarke County, Virginia, 
on the 15th of December, 1833. On the 4th of August, 185 1, 
he matriculated at the Virginia Military Institute, but did not 
remain to graduate. Soon after his elder brother, James L, 
Ashby, graduated, July 4, 1852, he left the Institute and joined 
his brother, in the corps of engineers in which he was engaged. 
In this corps he assisted in the laying off of Kansas Territory 
into townships, in location of towns, and also was employed in 



JOHN W. ASHBY. 35 

the preliminary surveys of the St. Joseph and Hannibal Rail- 
road, in Missouri. Returning to Virginia, he entered into a 
partnership with his brother for the purpose of conducting a 
flouring-mill in Warren. In this business he was engaged 
until the war commenced. In the beginning of the war, being 
unable to make such business arrangements as would admit 
of his leaving home immediately, he assisted in organizing 
and drilling several companies in his neighborhood. In the 
fall of 1 861 he volunteered as a private in Co. "A," 7th Vir- 
ginia Cavalry, the celebrated " Black Horse Cavalry," com- 
manded by the gallant Turner Ashby; the captain of "A" 
Company being the no less gallant Richard Ashby, a fellow 
eleve with John W. Ashby, of the Virginia Military Institute, as 
well as a brother martyr in the Southern cause. In this com- 
pany he served with distinguished credit as a brave and cool 
soldier, until the reorganization of the army in 1862, when he 
joined Co. " I," 12th Virginia Cavalry, a company organized in 
Warren County, in the neighborhood where he resided before 
the war. In his regiment John W. Ashby was very popular, his 
generous nature winning him friends among his comrades, and 
his readiness for duty commanding the respect and approba- 
tion of his officers. All through the war he was with his regi- 
ment, until sent on horse-detail a few months before the sur- 
render. On the 6th of April, 1865, just three days before the 
grand old army of Northern Virginia breathed her last at 
Appomattox Court-House, he rejoined his regiment. On the 
morning of the 9th, just two hours before the catastrophe, he 
was struck in the stomach by a fragment of a shell, pro- 
ducing such severe wounds that death quickly ensued. It 
seemed very sad, when he had passed through four years' 
campaigns unscathed, that in the very last battle, when in a 
few hours he would have been safe, he should have fallen 
thus ; yet he was spared witnessing his country's humiliation. 
Brave, generous, warm-hearted in nature, he was never with- 
out friends, and had few, if any, enemies. James L. Ashby, at 
Trcvyllian, John W. Ashby, at Appomattox, two brave soldier- 
brothers in life, in death not long divided. 



36 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\/ 
RICHARD ASHBY, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. "A," 7TH VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

Richard Ashby* youngest son of Colonel Turner and 
Dorothea F. Ashby, was born at " Rose Bank," in Fauquier 
County, Virginia, October 2, 183 1. Losing his father w^hen 
only three years old, he lived vi^ith his brother and sister at 
the old homestead, under the care of his mother, who was 
well fitted to make her children worthy of their proud name. 
" She took care to employ good teachers in her family, and 
whilst the minds of her children were cultivated under all the 
happy safeguards of home, was not less careful of their physi- 
cal education ; her boys were taught, like the young Medes 
in the day of Cyrus, to ride, to shoot, and to speak the truth." 

In July, 1848, " Dick" Ashby entered the Virginia Military 
Institute, but only remained for a short time. In 1853, when 
Mrs, Ashby was forced to dispose of Rose Bank, he bought 
a farm in Stafford County, near the home of his sister, Mrs. 
George Moncure, with whom his mother had gone to live, and 
cultivated it for some years. After this several years were 
spent in the West. 

When, in 1861, the 7th Virginia Cavalry was formed, he 
was appointed captain of "A" Company, which had previously 
been commanded by his brother, Turner Ashby, who was at 
the ^;ame time made lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Cavalry. 

While on service in the neighborhood of Romncy, in July, 
1 861, Captain Ashby was sent in command of a small scout- 
ing-party to arrest a citizen who had rendered himself ob- 
noxious to our troops by the conveyance of information to 
the enemy. While on this service he was killed. From 
"Ashby, and his Compeers," by the Rev. Jas. B. Avirett, we 
take the following account of his death, and the attendant 
circumstances : 



RICHARD ASHBY. 



37 



"I found Captain Ashby a most agreeable companion, and 
for one who had spent much of his time in the Far West, fight- 
ing Indians, a very poHshed and refined gentleman. I was par- 
ticularly struck by his superb horsemanship, and thought I 
had never seen such perfect mastery of his noble black stal- 
lion as was indicated by his easy, graceful seat, and the perfect 
accommodation of his every movement to that of the spirited 
animal he rode. 

" But the captain was not as well mounted as usual this 
morning, his favorite horse being a little out of order, from 
the hard duty upon which he had recently been placed. He 
was riding a very serviceable, but an inactive animal. At the 
head of the scouting-party, and at rather a rapid gait, he rode 
on, now through some narrow defile of the mountain, now 
over some spur of the Alleghany, until, about ten o'clock, he 
found himself near the spot where he hoped to make the 
arrest. Here, observing the most watchful precaution, a re- 
connoissance was made, but, much to his chagrin and dis- 
appointment, he soon found that 'the bird had flown.' Not 
suspicious of the deadly trap into which he was about to fall, 
he determined to push the scout nearer to the Federal lines, 
and advancing with this view, soon struck the line of the 
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad where it makes its serpentine 
way over that rough country. 

" He had not proceeded very far along the bed of the road, 
having turned off once to avoid a cattle-guard along the bed 
of the track, when, as suddenly as the riving bolt from a 
cloudless sky, a volley of musketry was poured into the ranks. 
Rapidly, and as best he could on the narrow track, he formed 
his little band to receive the shock of the coming charge, 
when, seeing that he was largely outnumbered, he determined 
to withdraw to where the advantage of position might, in some 
degree, compensate for disparity in force. While endeavoring 
to accomplish this manoeuvre, himself bringing up the rear, 
the Federal column of nearly an hundred mounted men made 
a spirited charge. The Confederate force, moving rapidly 
down the track of the railroad, found itself confronted by the 



38 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

cattle-guard above referred to. Most of the men were able to 
make the leap, but the captain looking behind, firing rapidly 
as he retreated, was precipitated, by the fall of his awkward, 
clumsy horse into the cattle-guard, upon the bed of the rail- 
road. The fall, though a severe one, did him no serious 
damage, and when fairly on his feet it was only to realize his 
danger. He called to his men to shelter themselves, and by 
this time the young Virginian found himself alone, unhorsed, 
and charged by a large body of men, rapidly firing upon him 
as they advanced. The firing, as is usual in such cases, was 
too high, and no ball touched him. Firmly planting himself 
on the track, he determined to sell his life as dearly as possi- 
ble. For awhile, as the track was narrow, he held his own 
against the fearful odds, unhorsing those leading the charge 
by well-directed shots. The fight grew more and more des- 
perate, until some of the enemy, making their way off the 
track, surrounded him and brought on the most terrible hand- 
to-hand and death-to-death struggle. The odds were too great, 
and after the most terrible rencontre Richard Ashby, over- 
powered by superior force, fell to the ground, weakened by 
nearly half a score of wounds all in front. When prostrate, 
the enemy pressed thickly round the unarmed man, and when 
gasping out a feeble reply to the question, 'Are you a seces- 
sionist ?' he received a terrible wound in the abdomen from a 
bayonet-thrust by the hand of a creature whom to call a man 
were inhuman. Whether or not his foes supposed that succor 
was near, they rapidly rifled his pockets, even taking off his 
spurs, and left him alone to die. He was a man of very great 
vitality, and a slight reaction ensuing, had barely strength to 
reach some bushes, a few feet from the road, under which his 
flickering instinct brought him to seek shelter from the burn- 
ing rays of the sun. But in the providence of God it was not 
his to die unaided or unavenged. It so happened that Colonel 
Ashby, who, in person, was making a scout in a direction 
other than that of his brother, informed by a friendly moun- 
tain girl that heavy firing had been heard in the direction 
taken by his brother, determined to advance as rapidly as 



RICHARD ASHBY. 



39 



possible in that direction. At the head of a scout of nine or 
ten men the agile, lithe form of tlie colonel might have been 
seen as he pressed the spur home in the flank of his noble 
dark bay, and impetuously rode onward to the spot of the 
desperate encounter, followed by his faithful troopers. 

" ' Swifter than an eagle, stronger than a lion,' was Turner 
Ashby that day. Arriving at the spot, he was not slow to see 
that hot work had been going on ; but not meeting any one 
from whom to learn definitely what had taken place, other 
than that a desperate fight had occurred, he pushed madly on 
the line of retreat taken by the enemy. Such was the im- 
petuosity and the rapidity of the movement that he was not 
long in coming abreast of the enemy as they occupied Kelly's 
Island — a long, narrow island in the Potomac. Discovering 
them just as they were in the act of firing, he rapidly wheeled 
his men off the track of the railroad, formed them under the 
cover of the embankment, and with a shout which made the 
woods ring, he cried out, ' Charge them, men, and at them 
with your bowie-knives!' And then, dashing his horse into 
the Potomac, closely followed by ten dauntless spirits, pro- 
ceeded himself to obey the command. The fire which they 
now encountered was a close and heavy one, emptying two 
of the saddles just as the little band reached the island. 
' Reserve your fire, men, and at them with your bowie-knives !' 
cried the colonel. And at them they went. Suspecting that 
some harm had befallen his brother, he fought with a terrible 
courage, and those who saw the wild glance of his eye and 
heard the shout of his ' Charge them, boys ! charge them !' 
will never forget it. The charge being pressed with increas- 
ing energy he was soon left in mastery of the field, — a brilliant 
victory, though by no means a bloodless one. . , . 

" Quickly gathering up the wounded and repairing to the 
Virginia shore, the colonel returned to the scene of Captain 
Asiiby's engagement of the morning, for he found among the 
articles captured upon the island his brother's spurs and 
horse. Searching diligently, Captain Ashby was found, still 
alive, but with scarcely strength to ask for a drop of water. 



40 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Some spirits was administered, which rallied him a little, and 
on a blanket stretched across two elastic poles he was carried 
across the mountain, by slow and easy stages, on the shoulders 
of the men who loved to follow him, to the hospitable mansion 
of Colonel Washington, near ' Camp Washington.' Here the 
writer had the melancholy pleasure of nursing and tending him 
during the week he survived his eight desperate wounds, and 
it affords him a saddened pleasure to remember how uncom- 
plainingly he bore his great suffering. The surgeons thought 
he might recover, so great was his vitality, and such a des- 
perate effort did nature make to right herself; but after endur- 
ing seven days of terrible suffering, sufficiently rational at first 
to make to his brother, the colonel, the recital upon which 
this description is chiefly based, the spirit of Richard Ashby 
passed away on the 3d of July, 1861." 

The body of Captain Ashby was buried with all the honors 
of war in the Indian Mound Cemetery, near Romney, Virginia. 

After the close of the war the body of Captain Ashby was 
removed to the " Stonewall Cemetery," at Winchester, Vir- 
ginia, where it was reinterred by the side of his brother, Gen- 
eral Ashby, and Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas IMarshall, of the 
17th Virginia Cavalry. 

Killed before the first great battle was fought in his native 
State, the dashing, spirited soldier had gained for himself the 
reputation for a bravery not surpassed in our war. 



S. F. A 7 WELL. 



41 



S. F. ATWELL, 

OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VA. ; CORPORAL, CO. " A," CORPS OF CADETS. 

Cadet S. F. Atwell was a native of Westmoreland County, 
Virginia, his father Hving near Montrose. On the 20th of 
May, 1862, when in his seventeenth year, he became a cadet. 
In his college-Hfe the record is excellent. At the end of his 
fourth class-year he had attained honorable standing in his 
studies, and for his soldierly qualities was appointed fourth 
corporal in Co. " A." Of his private character, a room-mate 
and friend says, " He was a consistent member of the 
Episcopal Church, and I can bear testimony that he exerted 
himself continually to impress the truth of the doctrines of 
Christianity upon his companions. I well recollect his zeal- 
ous efforts to repress profanity amongst us." 

Only those who remember the utter recklessness as to 
religion of the greater number of the corps during the war, 
when foolish boys high-strung with the excitement of the 
times imitated the vices of camp without imitating its virtues, 
can appreciate the moral force and courage requisite to assume 
the stand of young Atwell, to lead the life of godliness, and 
to be esteemed a manly Christian by his companions. Within 
a week from the close of his second year, in May, 1864, the 
cadets were ordered to join General Breckinridge at Staunton. 
Before daybreak on Wednesday, the i ith, preparations were 
being made to leave the Institute, and when, after an early 
breakfast, the corps filed out of the Virginia Military Institute 
grounds, it is no special praise to say that Atwell's heart 
beat high at the prospect of serving his country. Every young 
heart there went forth to battle not only willingly, but gladly. 
The writer now, ten years after, recalls it vividly as the most 
joyous moment of his life, and the impression that so felt all 
the boys. As we passed along the road to Staunton this 
feeling showed itself in snatches of song shouted out merrily 



42 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

along the column, more frequently the whole battalion joining 
in whistling " Rosser's Quickstep," then a favorite among us. 
Little we anticipated that in a few hours some of our com- 
rades would lay dead on the field of battle ; that others, in 
terrible suffering from deadly wounds, would be longing for 
death as a relief. 

Such was the sad fate of the subject of this memoir. Ar- 
rived at the little village of New Market, in Shenandoah 
County, on Sunday morning, the 15th, the cadets were carried 
into battle about noon. Held in reserve until about two 
o'clock, it then became necessary that they should be ordered 
into the thick of the fight. Of this battle, its results and 
the casualties, a full account has been given. Among the 
wounded was Atwell, struck in the calf of the leg; his 
wound was considered severe, though not dangerous. Being 
removed to Staunton, he had almost gotten well, when he was 
attacked with lockjaw, and died in the most excruciating 
agony. His pain was so intense that he could not touch the 
bed without a groan of agony, and death came to him as a 
blessed relief 

A true soldier of his mother-country, an earnest child of 
Jesus, he laid down his life for the cause, and gained life im- 
mortal in the company of the Master, whose blessed name he 
had tried to defend while on earth. 



CHARLES M. BARTON, 

OF WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, CUTSHAW'S BATTERY. 

Among the severest losses of the South, in her late struggle, 
was that of her youthful population, the choice spirits of her 
youth first volunteering to take part in the contest; in too 
many cases the first sacrificed ; a loss, in its very nature, irre- 
parable. The material wealth and resources destroyed and 
wasted may, in time, be replaced. The various sources of 



CHARLES M. BARTON. 



43 



prosperity, closed up, may again be opened ; and the oper- 
ations of trade and commerce, suspended or deranged, may 
again be resumed more successfully than ever. But not so as 
regards the waste and loss of life with these youthful warriors. 
Too many of these, forsaking home and its endearments at 
the first call of patriotic duty, never again returned ; and too 
many others, spared to return, came back as mere wrecks, 
ruined and broken alike in mind and in body. 

The subject of this memoir belonged to the former of these 
classes. Responding to the call of his native State for de- 
fenders, during the summer of 1861, his brief career terminated 
in the spring of 1862. He fell in battle in sight of the home of 
his nativity, amid the natural objects with which he had been 
familiar from boyhood, and within a few miles of the home 
which he had left when entering upon military service, — a 
sacrifice in the moment of victory upon the altar of patriotism. 

Charles Marshall Barton, the eldest son of David W. 
and Fanny J. Barton, was born in Winchester, November 30, 
1836. He received his early tuition at the Winchester 
Academy, and the Episcopal High School near Alexandria, 
and entered the Virginia Military Institute at the beginning 
of the session 1853, graduating on the 4th of July, 1856. 
During the last session of his course at the Institute, Cadet 
Barton was brought under decided religious impressions, in 
a season of special interest, during the spring of 1856, and 
made a profession of religion only a few weeks before the 
session terminated. He was confirmed by Bishop Johns in 
company with some thirty or more of his comrades from the 
same institution. This most important step was taken in an 
earnest and decided spirit, and his subsequent course was in 
accordance with it. The writer of this sketch was present 
when the profession was made, had opportunity of conversation 
with him in reference to the feelings and resolves by which it 
was dictated, knew him intimately during most of his sub- 
sequent life, and it is grateful to think of that life as char- 
acterized throughout by an unostentatious, but unbroken 
consistency. 



44 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Soon after his graduation, Mr. Barton selected as his vo- 
cation that of a tiller of the soil, and settled upon a beauti- 
ful farm, the property of his father, within a few miles of 
Winchester, in one of the most desirable sections of the 
Valley. Here, with his feelings of interest thoroughly enlisted 
in his occupation and with 'a genial soil making its abundant 
returns, he was rapidly surrounding himself with the comforts 
and enjoyments of rural life. His marriage, in the fall of 1859, 
with Miss Ellen Marshall, of Fauquier, brought the joys of 
domestic life to his home, and added a brighter sunshine to 
all its duties and pleasures. About this time, or soon after, 
he removed from the farm which he had been cultivating to 
one not far distant, Springdale, on the main turnpike from 
Winchester to Staunton, and between five and six miles from 
the former place. 

It was from this home of comfort and abundance, of healthy 
and interesting occupation, of peace and domestic enjoyment, 
that the youthful farmer was called to a sterner class of duties, 
— the privations and hardships and dangers of military life. 
At the demand of patriotism the farmer became the soldier, 
and, within less than a year, yielded up his existence; offering 
his services to the State of Virginia, he received the appoint- 
ment of second lieutenant in the provisional army of the Con- 
federacy. His military education did him good service in his 
new position. And his brief but efficient career, like that of 
so many other of her sons, reflected credit upon the training 
of his Alma Mater. During the summer and fall of 1861, 
Lieutenant Barton was assigned to duty as inspector of forti- 
fications surrounding Winchester, at that time regarded as the 
gateway of the Valley, the granary of the State. During the 
winter of 1 861-2, as first lieutenant, in conjunction with Cap- 
tain, afterwards Colonel, Cutshaw, he organized a company of 
artillery, well known as Cutshaw's Battery. As part of the 
army of the Valley this organization rendered efficient and 
arduous service during that memorable campaign of the 
spring of 1862 in the Valley of Virginia. 

Towards the close of this period the contest for the Valley 



CHARLES M. BARTON. 



45 



raged within the vicinity of Winchester. The retiring Federal 
army, endeavoring either to hold this position, or to secure 
their retreat from serious molestation, made a brief stand at 
this point on the morning of Sunday, the 25th of May. South 
of the town the range of hills rises to a crowning elevation. 
From this, looking north, may be seen, thirty miles off, the gap 
and neighboring mountains of Harper's Ferry. To the east, 
trending to the distant south, range the gentle undulations of 
the Blue Ridge, and, intervening between this range and the 
beholder, lies stretched out a country of hill, and valley, and 
cleared spot, and forest growth of most beautiful and diversi- 
fied character. It was upon this elevation that Lieutenant 
Barton's battery was situated ; and with him the contest was 
literally one for house and home, — a contest carried on upon 
a spot with which he was perfectly familiar, connected with 
all the associations of youth and opening manhood. Beyond 
the ranks of the enemy was the home of his childhood, of his 
yet remaining parents ; while only a few miles back was that 
home of his early manhood, forsaken at the call of duty. But 
it was just here, with the prospect of victory and reunion with 
his beloved ones, that his death-wound was received. While 
manning one of his guns, and exulting in the prospect of suc- 
cess, he was struck by a fatal shot, the last one of the oppos- 
ing battery, and rendered immediately helpless. Borne by 
his comrades to the shade of a neighboring grove, he soon 
breathed his last, almost in hearing of the welcome given by 
his parents, as yet ignorant of their loss, to his victorious com- 
rades. That bright May Sunday, of patridlic joy and exul- 
tation among the people of Winchester, will never, by its 
participants, be forgotten. But there was at least one sorrow- 
ing household, one darkened home, in which that rejoicing 
was mingled with mourning. 

He now sleeps in the cemetery at Winchester with two 
brothers in blood, and with many brethren in arms not far off, 
all, like himself, yielding their lives to the cause of a common 
country. Among the individual records of the great revolution 
through which this country has passed, there is scarcely one 



46 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

to be found which more strongly than this contrasts the 
blessings of peace and the evils of war. If this brief record of 
a good citizen and fearless patriot should in any manner tend 
to the securing of these blessings of peace and the warding 
off of these evils of war, its purposes will have been more than 
accomplished. 



PETER R. BEASLEY, 

OF HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, 35TH ALABAMA 
INFANTRY. 

Peter R. Beasley, son of Dr. Jas. A. Beasley, was born 
near Huntsville, Alabama, on the i6th of July, 1844. In his 
boyhood he was noted for his firmness, self-reliance, and 
energy; which traits characterized him in a marked degree 
as he approached manhood. 

He entered the Virginia Military Institute in the fall of 
i860, and remained there until the suspension of the school 
in the spring of 1861, when he went with the battalion of 
cadets to Richmond, and served there as a drill-master until 
the first battle of Manassas. 

Returning then to Huntsville, he joined the 35th Alabama 
Infantry, in which regiment he served as a private for some 
time, and was then promoted first lieutenant. In this capacity 
he served until, at the battle of Corinth, in 1862, he received a 
severe wound in the leg, which obliged him to return to his 
home for some time. Returning from his furlough, he served 
with his regiment in all its duties, an efificient and trusty offi- 
cer, until the 4th of July, 1864. On that day he was engaged 
in throwing up breastworks near Marietta, Georgia. During 
the progress of the work Lieutenant Beasley mounted the 
parapet to see that it was more efficiently done. Repeatedly 
warned of his imminent danger, he continued cool in the 



PETER R. BEASLEY. 47 

discharge of what he considered his duty, until he was shot 
down by a ball breaking his leg. 

Persistently refusing to have the limb amputated, he would 
not consent to have chloroform administered by the surgeons 
who examined his wound unless they gave their word of 
honor that they would not amputate the limb while he was 
unconscious. He was removed to Forsyth, Georgia, where 
after lingering for three weeks in intense suffering, borne with 
soldierly fortitude, he died on the 25th of July, 1864, aged 
twenty years and nine days. 

Lieutenant Beasley's decided character, clear and vigorous 
intellect, and purity of morals gave promise that he would 
have become a man of mark had he escaped the perils of war, 
"sed dis aliter visum est." 

Deeply beloved by family and friends, the following tribute 
to his memory, from the pen of a lady friend, must show, as 
best it can, that estimation : 

" Another bi^ave young hei-o softly sleeps, 

An offering to his country's honor and renown ; 
Another fair Corinthian column lies, 

All crushed and broken, on the blood-stained ground. 

" Scarcely a man, and yet so brave and good, 

That men of sober years valued his worth and truth; 
And He who takes the best the earliest hence 

Looked with immortal love upon His noble youth. 

" What a bright destiny to be so early called 

From the first conflicts of this rude, cold woirld ! 
To tread, in place of its hot, dusty streets. 

The cool broad pavements of the onyx-stone and pearl !" 



" The memory of our noble patriot boy 
Shall build the temple of our country's fame, 
Each one a classic stone, a sacred name. 
And here, in after-years to come, 
We'll bring our little ones to learn 
The names that make us great." 



48 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



RICHARD B. BENBURY, Jr., 

OF GATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA ; PRIVATE, NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Richard B. Benbury, Jr., son of Richard B. and Mary 
Benbury, was born in Gatesville, North Carohna, in 1844. 
Was sent to the Virginia Military Institute in February, 1862, 
where he remained for a iQ.\N months, and then entered a 
North Carohna regiment. In 1864 young Benbury, together 
with his elder brother James, received a furlough for a few 
weeks, and returned to their home in Gatesville. Several days 
elapsed, both were taken sick with disease contracted in camp, 
and, after a very short illness, they died within four hours of 
each other, and were buried in the same grave. Their wid- 
owed mother followed these her only children to the grave in 
a few months, leaving no one to tell the story of their lives. 



B. F. BISHOP, 

OF SURRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, STAFF OF GENERAL WRIGHT. 

Among the many painful duties assigned to man, few are 
more so than to go back to the birth, infancy, and childhood 
of one of the loved and lost; to follow the path of innocent 
feet on through the ever-varying scenes of life to the dawning 
of glorious manhood, with its many bright hopes and lofty 
aspirations ; on, still on, to the very verge of the new life, 
watching the shadows of the twilight of age as they creep 
over the loved form, and then lean forward with painfully- 
throbbing heart to catch a last glimpse, as it passes over 
the "Jordan of Death" to that unknown land "from whose 
bourne no traveler returns !" Though the decree of the Just 



B. F. BISHOP. 



49 



One includes our entire race, and though we know 'tis a fate 
common to all to fall a prey to the avenging angel, and many, 
many times have we felt his presence near, yet we cannot be- 
come so accustomed to his footsteps as to hear the sound of 
them without a shudder, even though the victim for whom he 
comes claims not a kindred sigh or tear. When mortal nature 
sinks beneath the weight of years, when the wheels of life are 
really worn out by' long turning, even then we feel sad that 
what was once the home of a noble spirit, full of life and 
buoyant hopes, should be consigned to the dark, cruel grave, 
passing away from this world forever; and with feelings of 
sacred tenderness we trace each line, telling that world what 
it has lost. But alas ! how much more is it to be regretted 
that we must record the events of a life that was withered 
when in the flush of perfect bloom, then faded, drooped, and 
died ; just as the sun of life has reached its zenith to see it 
hurled down, never again to emit a single ray to gladden the 
hearts of the many who would fain hope against hope ! And 
such was the fate of the subject of this memoir, Captain B. F. 
Bishop. 

Captain Bishop was born of poor but worthy parents. His 
father, William R. Bishop, was a native of Surry County, Vir- 
ginia, and a most energetic, persevering man. His mother, 
Mahala P. Laine, was of Sussex County, Virginia. They were 
married on the 20th of December, 1838, and settled in Sussex. 
On the 1st of November, 1839, Benjamin Franklin Bishop 
was born. From his earliest infancy he evinced a strong 
thirst for knowledge. When he could just begin to prattle, 
making sweetest music for his mother's ear, she would some- 
times give him a newspaper with which to amuse himself by 
kicking and tossing it about with his little feet and hands that 
he might hear it rattle. Ere long he began to take such an 
interest in the many, to him, mysterious marks with which it 
was covered, as to single out one, and then another, and ask 
what they were. In this way he learned the whole alphabet, 
and so gifted was he with the powers of memory that he never 
forgot it. All through his after-life he exhibited the same 

4 



50 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



desire and determination to gather knowledge,- and it was an 
easy matter for him to solve the most difficult problems. At 
the age of eighteen, having had very limited advantages, he was 
enabled, through the instrumentality of General George Blow, 
Jr., and Mr. William N. Blow, to enter the Virginia Military 
Institute as a State cadet, where he remained till the beginning 
of our late war. He was sent, in April, 1861, to Richmond to 
drill Virginia soldiers, and from there back to Lexington for 
the same purpose. On the 4th of July, 1861, he, with the rest 
of his class, was graduated and then sent into active service. 
On the i6th of July, 1861, he was commissioned second lieu- 
tenant in the regular army of the Confederate States, but was 
ignorant of the fact until January, 1862, when, on application 
to the Secretary of War, he learned that his commission had 
been granted him five months previous, but, in consequence of 
the Secretary's being ignorant of his whereabouts, he had not 
received it. He was then ordered to Knoxville, Tennessee, 
where he remained only a few days, as he received orders 
to proceed to Cumberland Gap, Kentucky. Colonel Vance 
being absent, and the lieutenant-colonel and major both being 
sick, he was put in command of the forces. The trip was a 
dreadful one, as it rained incessantly for four days. The rivers 
on the route, — the Clinch, Powell's, and Holston, — were so 
swollen as almost to defy man and beast. Nevertheless, rafts 
were constructed under the orders of Lieutenant Bishop, and 
the troops conveyed safely over, the lieutenant being com- 
pelled to swim his horse. When he reached Cumberland Gap 
he was placed on General Reins's staff While there he was 
engaged in one battle, and received a slight wound in the 
hand. He also contracted the measles and mumps while sta- 
tioned at that place, which came near costing him his life. 
Being scarcely recovered from the effects of sickness, he was, 
on the 28th of June, attacked with typhoid fever, and sent on 
to Lee's Springs, where, for four weeks, he remained uncon- 
scious of all around him. After recovering sufficiently to 
admit of removal, he was sent to Knoxville, Tennessee, and 
subsequently was attacked with pneumonia and inflammatory 



B. F. BISHOP. 



51 



rheumatism. His health being now so much impaired as to 
unfit him for duty, he was granted a furlough and returned 
home to regain, if possible, his former strength and elasticity 
of both mind and body. Being partially restored, he again 
reported at headquarters, and was appointed assistant adjutant- 
general, army of East Tennessee, and was assigned to duty 
on General E. K. Smith's staff. He did not continue there 
long, however, before he was promoted to a captaincy, and 
appointed provost-marshal for the entire district of North 
Georgia, North Alabama, and Southeast Tennessee. Head- 
quarters being at Chattanooga, he was placed on General J. K. 
Jackson's staff. On the 14th of May, 1863, he was united to 
Miss Anna L. Lewis, daughter of Major Lewis, of Loudon, 
Tennessee. Soon after their marriage he was ordered to 
Atlanta, Georgia, that being headquarters, and he was ap- 
pointed, for the time, assistant inspector-general. On the 26th 
of May he was taken prisoner at Macon, Georgia; he was, 
however, paroled the same day, and returned to Atlanta and 
was put on General Wright's staff, where he remained for a 
few months, was then ordered to Madison, Georgia, and was 
again captured near that place and sent to Charleston on one 
of the vessels that bombarded that city. The name of the 
vessel is unknown. Whilst held a prisoner there, he was 
again seized with pneumonia and came very near dying. In 
such a place, crowded in the hold of the ship, the wonder is 
that his already terribly-shattered constitution could ever rally 
again sufficiently for him to reach his friends, and no doubt he 
never entirely recovered from his horrible sufferings during 
the six months of his captivity ; never did he find relief from 
the terrible cough that at times harassed him exceedingly. 
One of the officers on the ship, whom he recognized as a 
brother cadet of the Military Institute of Virginia, recognized 
him also, and through his influence he was paroled on the 8th 
of May, 1865. The war being over, he became principal of 
the Calhoun Academy, Georgia. In the following September, 
returning to his native State to engage in farming, he came 
back to the " loved ones at home" a mere wreck of what his 



52 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

early manhood promised, broken down in health and de- 
pressed in spirits from the sad consequences of the four years 
of hard servitude in war, and the heavy sorrows which befell 
him, among them the loss of his wife. Captain Bishop's health 
grew worse, though he would fain have made his friends be- 
lieve that it was improving. Evidently he thought so, for, on 
the 13th of June, 1867, he was again married, to Miss Sallie B. 
Bailey, daughter of Mr. J. L. Bailey, of Southampton County, 
Virginia. 

Near the middle of December, when about to take charge 
of an academy in the town of Hamilton, North Carolina, he 
was attacked with paralysis, and after struggling hard against 
his fate, trying, no doubt for the sake of his friends, to appear 
much stronger than he really was, he was compelled to take 
his bed for the last time on the last day of the year, and the 
next morning found him speechless. It was evident his brain 
was affected, and it was thought by some he had brain fever 
combined with paralysis, but 4iis physician never positively 
determined what was the real cause of his untimely end; but 
those who were well acquainted with his sufferings during the 
war could not doubt but they were the fundamental cause of 
his death. During the following few days that he lived, he 
was apparently unconscious of all else save the presence of 
his wife, and was never more quiet than when she was by his 
bedside holding his hand, and would grow restless whenever 
she left him for a few moments. On the 5th of January, 1868, 
his spirit passed away, and on the 7th his remains were in- 
terred in the family graveyard. 

In the hearts of many the memory of Captain Bishop is still 
fondly cherished, unchanged as the dark evergreens that droop 
over his grave. Years have passed since he was taken away, 
yet in affectionate remembrance friends and relatives pay to 
him personal tribute, while his country mourns him as one of 
her lost sons. 



LA WSON B O TTS. 5 3 

LAWSON BOTTS, 

OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, 2D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Although our peculiar Southern civilization has passed 
away, its friends can point with proud satisfaction to the men 
that it has produced, and can argue that a social system that 
produced such men as adorn the history of Virginia and the 
South, was not unworthy of the struggle in which that system 
expired. 

Viewed from a material stand-point, its results are far infe- 
rior to those of its successful rival. No vast accumulation of 
capital, in corporate or individual hands, appears in Southern 
statistics. No great monuments of human art or human 
labor adorn her scenery. Her rivers, great and small, have 
been allowed to flow in comparative peace from their moun- 
tain sources to the bosom of the ocean. The solitude of her 
mountains has generally been undisturbed, save by the wood- 
man's axe, the hunter's rifle, and the peaceful shepherd and 
herdsman. And yet, notwithstanding all this comparative in- 
difference to material development, the southern section of our 
country has produced men the peers of earth's greatest sons, 
in the Senate or in the field, in the forum or in the home circle. 

We of Virginia have been in the habit of pointing with 
pride to the list of our distinguished men. That list is not 
confined to our revolutionary period, but extends from the day 
that gave birth to George Washington to that of the death 
of Robert E. Lee. This habit of ours is considered by our 
materialistic neighbors as a Virginia weakness. The pleasure 
which we take in contemplating the characters of our good 
and great men affords amusement to the worshipers at the 
shrine of mere material development. They wonder that we 
can dwell with such satisfaction on the deeds and characters 
of our immortal dead. We, on the other hand, wonder that 
men can see more to attract in the power that drives a cotton 



54 INSTITUTE MEMORIAI^. 

mill, than in that which impels a man to the performance of 
duty amid all the trials and temptations of life. 

And as our list of great men is not confined to one period 
of our history, neither is it limited to those who have held 
high places and received the plaudits of the world. Such 
are but representative men, of higher position, and, if you 
please, of higher intellectual and moral endowment, but in the 
bosom of the State that gave them birth there were men of 
kindred qualities and powers, alike in kind but different only 
in degree. 

General Robert E. Lee achieved a reputation world-wide, 
and he is often spoken of as a representative man. There is 
truth in the idea. Possessed, as General Lee doubtless was, 
of high military talents and great moral qualities, he had the 
good fortune to occupy a position that enabled him to exhibit 
his talents and his virtues. Among those who followed the 
fortunes of that great leader were men who, while inferior to 
him in talents and position, possessed no small share of the 
courage, patriotism, devotion to duty, and other high moral 
qualities that have given such lustre to his name. 

Our State produced many men of the character just indi- 
cated, and if their names are not known beyond the confines 
of their State, county, or regiment, they are nevertheless em- 
balmed ^n the hearts of comrades and friends. Of these heroes 
no better representative is known to the writer than he whose 
name stands at the head of this article. For he was a hero, a 
man of whom our State may well be proud, a character that 
can be held up to our young men to admire and imitate. 

Lawson Botts was born at Fredericksburg, Virginia, on the 
25th day of July, 1825. His father was General Thomas H. 
Botts, and his mother Ann Willis, a daughter of Colonel 
Byrd Willis, of Orange County. His grandfather was Benja- 
min Botts, a distinguished member of the bar, who lost his 
life in the burning of the Richmond theatre, in 181 1, at which 
time his wife, the grandmother of the subject of this sketch, 
perished with her husband. It is said that Mr. Benjamin Botts 
succeeded in making his escape from the burning building, 



LAWS ON BOTTS. 



55 



but, finding that his wife was not with him, returned, and be- 
came the victim of the flames. 

Lawson Botts entered the Virginia Military Institute as a 
cadet in the year 1841, at about the age of sixteen years, 
where he remained two years. He was compelled to return 
home before graduating, because of his father's ill health and 
loss of sight. He subsequently studied law in his father's 
office, and after he obtained his license, his father's affairs 
having been arranged so that he could leave home, he settled 
in Clarksburg, Harrison County, where he remained about one 
year. About the year 1846, he removed from Clarksburg to 
Charlestown, Jefferson County, where he continued to reside 
until the war. In 185 1 he was married to Miss Ranson, 
daughter of James L. Ranson, Esq., of Jefferson County. 
When John Brown was tried for treason, Lawson Botts was 
appointed by the court to defend him ; and it is worthy of 
notice that his grandfather, Benjamin Botts, defended Aaron 
Burr from a similar charge. 

After the John Brown raid, a volunteer company, known as 
the "Botts Grays," was organized in Charlestown. Of this 
company he was elected captain, and at the commencement 
of the war the " Botts Grays" promptly entered the service of 
Virginia as Co. "G," of the 2d Virginia Infantry, commanded 
by Colonel James W. Allen. The regiment had been organized 
in Jefferson County, about one year before the war, and when 
put on a war-footing was strengthened by companies from 
Clarke, Frederick, and Berkeley Counties. It was the regi- 
ment that marched on Harper's Ferry, April 17, 1861, and 
after driving out the small body of Federal troops stationed 
there, occupied that town. 

At the organization of the force at Harper's Ferry by Col- 
onel T. J. Jackson, — afterwards known as General Stonewall 
Jackson, — Captain Botts was commissioned by Governor 
John Letcher as major of his regiment, 2d Virginia Infantry. 
This regiment, with the 4th, 5th, 27th, and 33d Virginia In- 
fantry, composed the first Virginia brigade of infantry, — after- 
wards known as the " Stonewall Brigade," in honor of its first 



56 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

brigadier, and which served under that great captain until his 
death. 

At the first battle of Manassas, Major Botts distinguished 
himself for coolness and gallantry, and was soon after made 
lieutenant- colonel of his regiment, to fill the vacancy occa- 
sioned by the death of Colonel Frank Lackland, He also 
greatly distinguished himself at the battle of Kernestown, 
March 23, 1862; was with his regiment at the battles of Win- 
chester, May 25, 1862, Port Republic, June, 1862, and in the 
seven days' battles around Richmond, in one of which, that of 
Gaines's Mill, Colonel Allen and Major Francis B. Jones, of 
the 2d Virginia Infantry, were killed, leaving Colonel Botts 
the sole surviving field-officer of his regiment. In all of these 
battles Colonel Botts more than sustained the reputation 
gained at Manassas. He was commissioned colonel of his 
regiment soon after the death of Colonel Allen, and, although 
of delicate frame and feeble health, he was present in every 
battle in which his regiment was engaged that summer, until, 
on the 28th of August, 1862, he received his death-wound at 
the second battle of Manassas, while leading his regiment into 
the hottest of the fight. He was shot from his horse by a 
musket-ball, which entered his cheek and came out behind 
his ear. He survived this wound upwards of two weeks, 
and died at the house of a friend. Rev. James Haynes, near 
Middleburg, Loudon County, on Wednesday the i6th of 
September, 1862, in the thirty-eighth year of his age, from 
secondary hemorrhage. 

He died as he had lived, a Christian gentleman and soldier. 
His wife still survives him. At his death he had four sons. 
One has gone to join his father; three are now living, — 
Thomas H., James Ranson, and Robert. May they prove 
worthy sons of their honored father ! 

When Colonel Botts settled in Charlestown, he was poor 
and unknown ; when he died, few, if any in his county, ex- 
erted a more solid influence, or had a larger circle of friends 
and admirers. This influence he carried with him into the 
army, and if his life had been spared until the close of the war, 



LAWS ON BOTTS. 



57 



it is not hazarding much to say that his military and personal 
reputation would have been as extensive as the Confederacy. 
His intellectual endowments, while of an order that would 
have given him high rank in his profession if his life had been 
spared, were not, in the opinion of the writer, the true source 
of his influence. Although his intelligence and cultivation 
were important elements in the combination of qualities that 
adorned his character, love of truth, devotion to duty, courage 
to defend the one and perform the other, were the true ele- 
ments of his power. His love of truth in the largest sense of the 
term was remarkable. To know the truth on all subjects that 
he was called to act upon, was the master-feeling of his nature. 
To ascertain the truth was by him considered a duty, and from 
the performance of duty he never shrank, no matter where 
placed, whether in public or private life, at the bar or on the 
battle-field. This fidelity to truth and duty ran through his 
whole conduct, and illustrated everything he did. Hence, 
as a citizen, he was public-spirited and anxious to promote 
the good of his country ; as a lawyer, faithful to every trust, 
giving all of his energies and abilities to the interests com- 
mitted to his care ; as a Christian, earnest and active ; as a 
military man, submissive to authority, quiet in conception, 
active, bold, courageous. He did not belong to the extreme 
class of Southern men. A devoted friend of the Union and 
the ConstitJitioii, he was opposed to the separation of Virginia 
from the Union until after the failure of the efforts of Virginia 
to effect through her peace commissioners a settlement of the 
pending difficulties. When the State seceded, he determined, 
from a sense of duty, to follow her fortunes, which he did until 
his end. It was his devotion to duty that led to his death. 
At the time of receiving the fatal shot his health was very 
feeble. Most men in his condition, with his distinguished 
reputation as an officer, would have acted on the advice of his 
surgeon, and have sought rest and quiet long enough to re- 
cruit his exhausted nature. Not so with the subject of this 
notice. He deemed it his duty, as long as he had strength 
enough to keep his saddle, to remain with his regiment and 



58 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

share the privations, sufferings, and dangers of his men. The 
wound that he received would not, it is thought, have resulted 
in his death, but for the state of his health at the time it was 
received. 

The late war has deprived Virginia of many a noble son. 
Her soil contains many a hero's dust, yet nowhere within her 
limits rest the remains of a truer, braver, nobler man, than 
was Colonel Lawson Botts! 

Colonel R. H. Lee. 



RANDOLPH BRADLEY, 

OF PAGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, I4TH LOUISIANA INFANTRY. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Page County, Vir- 
ginia, on the 28th of May, 1842, and was connected on both 
sides with the best families in the State. When young Brad- 
ley was three years of age, his father, William Bradley, Esq., 
removed to the West, and settled in the interior of Missouri. 
Here he attended the district schools, and showed consider- 
able proficiency in mathematics. Among his schoolmates he 
was remarkable for his love of truth and high sense of honor. 

In his nineteenth year he entered the Virginia Military In- 
stitute, this being in the autumn of i860. The following April 
he was sent with the cadets to Richmond to act as drill-master. 
In this service he was engaged for three months. He then 
determined to enter the service of his adopted State, which 
had seceded about this time ; but, upon reaching Memphis, 
Tennessee (whither he had gone with dispatches for General 
Floyd), he found it impossible to get through the enemy's 
line, and, therefore, returned to Smythe County, in South- 
western Virginia. Volunteering here in the " Smythe Blues," 
he was with them in all their marches and other military ser- 
vices until the latter part of December, 1861, when he received 
an appointment as second lieutenant in the Confederate States 



RANDOLPH BRADLEY. 



59 



army, and was assigned to duty in the 14th Louisiana Infantry. 
In the course of a few months, Lieutenant Bradley was pro- 
moted first lieutenant and adjutant. At the battle of Williams- 
burg he acted as aid-de-camp to General Pryor, was slightly 
wounded, and so distinguished himself for his coolness and 
gallantry that he was mentioned in the general's report of the 
battle as deserving promotion. At the battle of Seven Pines 
was promoted captain in the 14th Louisiana, then commanded 
by Colonel R. VV. Jones. In this capacity he served until he 
fell, mortally wounded, leading his company in battle, during 
the great seven days' fight around Richmond, on the 27th of 
June, 1862. 

The regiment was ordered to storm a battery, and in so 
doing was cut to pieces, every officer save three, and two- 
thirds of the privates, being killed. Colonel Jones, in speak- 
ing of Captain Bradley, says, " He displayed great courage 
and coolness on the field of battle, and lost his life by no rash 
act of bravery." He was taken from the field of carnage to 
the house of Colonel Fry, in Richmond, where he was ten- 
derly cared for by loving friends, the Rev. Dr. Minnegerode 
offering him spiritual comfort in his last moments. He expired 
on the next day, June 28, 1862, and his remains now sleep in 
Hollywood Cemetery, with the proud city he died to defend 
his only monument. 

His immediate family were no laggards in patriotism : one 
brother losing his life in the Mexican war, another dying a 
lieutenant-colonel in the Confederate army, and a younger 
brother being a soldier in the " Missouri State Guard." 

Laying down his life before he had reached the age of man- 
hood. Captain Bradley had yet endeared himself to friends, 
and proved himself so worthy, that they shall ever dwell on 
his noble deeds and glory in his memory. In personal appear- 
ance he was tall and commanding; his finely-formed head was 
covered with dark-brown hair, and his deep-blue eye was pene- 
trating and intelligent. Strong in frame, bold in disposition, 
he was kind, benevolent, and humane ; and in his sense of right 
and regard for duty was as unyielding as the fiat of Heaven. 



(^ INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

WILLIAM H. BRAY, 

OF ESSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

William H. Bray was born in Essex County, Virginia, in 
1839. In his nineteenth year, he was entered as a cadet at 
the Military Institute by his guardian, Dr. R. Richards, of 
King William County, and became a member of the third 
class. Attaining considerable success in his studies, at the 
end of his first year he stood in the upper half of his class, 
and received a sergeantcy in the corps. Graduated in July, 
1 861, after having served with the cadets, as a drill-master, at 
the Camp of Instruction at Richmond, and was appointed as 
lieutenant in a Virginia regiment, name not known, with 
whiqh he served until killed in the battle of Gettysburg, 
July 3, 1863. 



JAMES BRECKINRIDGE, 

OF BOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, CO. "C," 2D VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

James Breckinridge, son of Colonel Carey, and Emma 
G. Breckinridge, was born on the ist of September, 1837. 
Having received an appointment as cadet in the State Military 
Institute, he reported for duty during the encampment of 1854, 
and began his studies as a member of the fourth class in Sep- 
tember of that year. Graduating in 1858, during the follow- 
ing session he studied law at the University of Virginia, and 
was just preparing to enter upon the practice of his profession 
when the war intervened. Volunteering immediately, he was 
commissioned in the Virginia State line, and assigned to 
Cocke's brigade as aid-de-camp. Resigning this commission 



JAMES BRECKINRIDGE. 6 1 

in July, i86i, he enlisted in a cavalry company from his 
county, named Co. " C," 2d Virginia, at the organization. He 
was appointed orderly sergeant of this company, and, upon 
the first vacancy occurring, was promoted to a lieutenancy. 
In this capacity he participated in the cavalry service during 
the first year of the war, and at the reorganization, in 1862, 
he was elected captain of his company. 

Early in the spring of this year Captain Breckinridge was 
married to Miss Fanny Burwell, of Liberty. Her subsequent 
history we give in a few words, copied from the " University 
Memorial :" 

"In August, 1862, Captain Breckinridge's command re- 
mained for a time near Gordonsville, and his wife spent a few 
days with him at the house of his uncle. Dr. Gilmer. Im- 
mediately upon her return home she was stricken down by 
typhoid fever, and died while he was engaged with Pope's 
army and unable even to hear of her illness. It was to him a 
crushing blow ; but through God's mercy it led him to his 
Saviour, for so He killeth and so He maketh alive. And so 
after a time the young soldier was able to regard as his home 
the heaven to which he believed his Christian wife had been 
translated. From that time he had little interest in life except 
to serve his country, which he did fearlessly and faithfully." 

No events of special interest mark his career from this period 
to the close of his life at Five Forks. " No friendly eye wit- 
nessed his death, but he had been heard to say he would 
never surrender, and when last seen on the retreat he was 
surrounded by the enemy and fighting desperately. His fate 
is veiled by the clouds that hung in dark column over the 
way from Petersburg to Appomattox Court-House." 

To give a fuller idea of the soldierly qualities of the subject 
of this memoir, we quote from a letter of General Munford, 
who was formerly colonel of the 2d Virginia cavalry : 

"In person Captain Breckinridge was a splendid specimen 
of a cavalry officer : tall and graceful, with a form indicative 
of great strength; handsome, gentle, and modest; his voice 
always pleasant in conversation ; a horseman by nature ; and 



62 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

a master of his pistol and sabre. When the bugle blew ' To 
horse,' he would mount with an ease to himself and horse that 
was rarely equalled ; and when he drew his weapons in 
action his eye was as piercing as his aim was true, and woe to 
him he encountered. With the noblest courage, yet free from 
recklessness, he would dash forward, inspiring his men to 
follow. When hard pressed, as he frequently was, in covering 
a retreat or opening the way for an advance, he was the same 
quiet, modest gentleman as in camp. Ever present in the 
thickest of the fight, his trusty carbineers needed not to be 
admonished by him, his example was so constantly before 
them. Serving with him four years, amid all the trials, 
fatigues, and wants of the cavalry service, I knew him 
thoroughly. He believed the cause right, and counted no 
sacrifice too dear to accomplish the end. I never heard him 
speak of himself No one ever heard him complain of any- 
thing. When the men and horses were nearly starved, he did 
not murmur, unless he believed it- was from neglect; then he 
was prompt to demand redress. When last I saw him, at the 
battle of Five Forks, in Dinwiddle County, the day of the 
evacuation of Petersburg, he was doing his utmost to check 
'Warren's Corps,' which was flanking Ransom's Division. 
With a flush on his manly brow, he never looked more the 
soldier. Alas, like his elder brother, he sleeps in an unknown 
soldier's grave. 'But, like the wounded eagle, he died with his 
plumage ruffled to the last, an eagle yet, with unblanching 
eye.' His name and noble bearing will ever linger in the 
memories of his old comrades in arms, whether they live in the 
humble mountaineer's cabin or in the stately mansion. And 
their little ones will often hear of his gallant deeds whenever 
the members of his old regiment meet together around the 
fireside or social table, and fight their battles over again. 

" No officer in his division was more distinguished for 
gallantry. None of his rank ever did more hard service than 
he, as the captain commanding the sharpshooters of the regi- 
ment. Yet we find an author, who writes fiction for history, 
charging him with neglect of duty. It is presumed when 



JAMES BRECKINRIDGE, 63 

history is written facts are given. The Federal officers give 
him credit for a gallant defense. His old comrades feel that 
had some of the Bomb-proof Ring, who manufactured com- 
missions at the War Department for political and other pur- 
poses, been present at Kelly's Ford on the 17th of March, 
1863, a commission commensurate with his deserts would 
have been given him, as far more worthy really than the ma- 
jority of those on whom they were in the habit of bestowing 
them. On page 268 of McCabe's ' Life of General R. E. 
Lee,' we read, — 

" ' The campaign opened by a reconnoissance of six regi- 
ments of Federal cavalry and a battery of artillery under 
General Averill. The object of this expedition was to cut 
Lee's communications at Gordonsville, and ascertain his 
strength and position. On the morning of the i6th of March 
a telegram from General R. E. Lee's headquarters informed 
General Stuart that a column of Federal cavalry was in 
motion, and advised him to look out for it along the upper 
Rappahannock. A small force was stationed at Kelly's Ford, 
to protect the crossing, and General Fitz. Lee's Brigade was 
ordered to hold itself in readiness to meet the enemy. In con- 
sequence of the neglect of the picket, General Averill forced a 
passage of the river at Kelly's Ford on the morning of the 
17th of March, capturing the picket-guard, and, pushing on, 
soon encountered Fitz. Lee's Brigade, which was drawn up 
to receive it. A severe engagement ensued, during which 
the Federal cavalry displayed more efficiency than they had 
shown during the war.' Let us examine closely what is here 
said. We know that Averill's Brigade was then composed of 
the 1st and 5th United States Regular Cavalry, the 3d and 6th 
Pennsylvania Cavalry, 1st Rhode Island and 4th New York 
Cavalry, and 6th New York Battery of six guns. The regi- 
ments were full at the ' opening of the campaign,' numbering 
about four thousand five hundred men, who were 'displaying 
more than usual efficiency.' The ' small force who guarded 
the crossing' numbered sixteen carbineers, and a reserve of 
about the same number of sabres, and was commanded by 



64 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. ' , 

Captain James Breckinridge, 2d Virginia Cavalry. The 
enemy moved from their camp on the i6th, and at h'ght on 
the 17th of March moved upon the ford, defended by this 
noble and devoted little band. We know also that Fitz. 
Lee's Brigade was encamped between Brandy Station and 
Culpeper Court-House, four and a half miles away by the 
shortest line from the point where Averill found them 'drawn 
tip to receive him! The brigade was in camp, had to be noti- 
fied, and then move four and a half miles to arrive at the 
point where they gave him battle. Now, how long were sixteen 
carbineers expected to hold an open ford against four thou- 
sand five hundred efficient troops? I ask if all lu ere not cap- 
tured, if they made any defense, zvJiosc fault was it ? Yet we 
know that double that number of men and horses were killed 
by this picket-guard before an inch of ground was yielded. 
And not until the enemy brought their artillery to bear upon 
them could they move them, though charge after charge was 
attempted. Every inch of ground was disputed until the 
brigade came to their rescue. A braver defense was never 
made by any officer against such odds. General Stuart him- 
self did not arrive on the field until General Fitz. Lee had 
fought the battle, which lasted all day. Averill retired, not 
much wiser as to General Lee's position, but terribly worsted 
in men and horses. To us it was a costly fight. Yet how 
cruel the charge made against the hero of Kelly's Ford ! Let 
it recoil upon the author, be he who he may." 

The following account of the battle of Kelly's Ford will 
make clearer the point made in the foregoing letter. It is 
from the pen of another comrade : 

"In March, 1863, the Northern army lay about in Stafford 
County, near Fredericksburg. The Stafford raid of Fitz. Lee 
had stirred up the animosity of this host, and we anticipated 
that they would return our visit. 

" Kelly's Ford was the natural route for a: visit to Culpeper 
Court-House or Gordonsville; and we proceeded to intrench 
our picket at Kelly's Mill, and to obstruct the ford, so that, 
if possible, the picket might be able to hold an advance 



JAMES BRECKINRIDGE. 65 

sufficiently long to give our cavalry brigade time for prepara- 
tion to receive the invaders. 

" We cut a ditch on this side, opposite the entrance to the 
ford on the Fauquier side, fastened a telegraph wire — about 
breast high — to the trees fronting the ditch. Above and 
below the simple track of the ford we fastened telegraph 
wires, so as to force the attacking party to come squarely 
on in front of the ditch. 

"On the morning of the 17th of March, 1863, Captain 
James Breckinridge, of Botetourt, with part of his squadron 
of the 2d (Co.'s ' C and ' D'), commanded the picket at 
Kelly's Ford. He had sixteen riflemen in the ditch, and his 
reserve with the horses on the hills, within rifle-shot of the 
ford. At daylight we received word that the picket was 
attacked, and we moved with eight hundred men to its sup- 
port, and arrived near the place to meet the enemy and join 
battle. 

" I have not space to give an account of that strange 
day's fighting, in which eight hundred men and three pieces 
of artillery defeated and drove across the river four thousand 
five hundred men with five pieces of artillery. I propose to 
describe the picket fight of a gallant brother captain, who was 
killed in the last battle of the lost cause, — the gallant life of 
a splendid man wasted in a series of fights in which we had 
no chance. Whether the fighting from. Petersburg to Appo- 
mattox, — a handful of tried and gallant patriots, wasted and 
starving, against an overwhelming host, richly caparisoned for 
war, — was proper, was judicious, was statesmanlike, — whether 
it should have been avoided, or peace made in Hampton 
Roads, — whether the civil government, the military, or the 
people were to blame, I stop not to inquire. Mean men and 
skulkers lay the blame on others. We thought we were 
right ; thought we were fighting right ; thought the govern- 
ment was doing ifs best. We blamed no one then but the 
'dodgers and bomb-proofs.' We blame no one now. 'God 
is wise.' Had we died on the battle-field we should have 
blamed no one. Jeff. Davis did not make tis fight, — we put 

5 



66 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

him forward. General Lee did not force us to the field, — he 
was the leader of our choice. Force could not have started 
the revolution, or formed the Confederacy, and force could 
not have held it twenty-four hours. 

"Three thousand men, — headed by a fine regiment com- 
manded by a brave Dutchman, — advanced on the ford, and 
were met by sixteen deadly rifles, sweeping the ford. Again 
and again was that column dashed into the fire, and horse and 
rider were 'in one red burial blent.' The major reached the 
wire, when Breckinridge's pistol sent a ball through his 
shoulder, and he retreated to the other side. The rifles from 
the hill gave some assistance. The artillery opened on the 
ditch, and for some time a shower of shells almost covered it. 
Captain Breckinridge and his men lay close ; and, when the 
enemy's bugle sounded the charge, the sixteen men stood to 
their carbines ; and as the column swept into the ford, the 
deadly rifles emptied the saddles, and filled the ford with men 
and horses. For more than three hours was this fight con- 
tinued. The enemy was furious, and our ammunition was 
failing. The enemy were charging to the wire, and their 
bodies were covering the sand. The carbine ammunition was 
exhausted. The pistols were being used, but there was no 
time for reloading. Captain Breckinridge sent out one man 
to have the horses ready ; and, in the face of the enemy, re- 
gained his horses, and skirmished in front of the advancing 
column, losing but two men. 

" When the enemy got to old Mr. Kelly's at the mill, they 
called him out and asked of the strength of our force. The 
old man proudly told them that sixteen men held the ford, 
with a reso've of about the same number. The colonel turned 
to his men, cursed them, and told them that it was a disgrace 
to their army that a brave captain with a company had held 
three thousand men in check for three hours. Botetourt and 
Franklin may well be proud of the men who that day expected 
death, kneeling in that ditch, and destroying all the letters 
from dear ones at home to prevent their falling into the hands 
of the enemy. 



PEACHY GILMER BRECKINRIDGE. 67 

" The Parkers and Hollands, of Franklin, and the Breckin- 
ridees and Brufjhs, of Botetourt, shed as brave blood on the 
bosom of our old mother as ever ran in 'cavalier veins.' They 
thought that they fought for liberty. 

" ' They walked in the paths their fathers had trod, 

Let them pass with their swords to the presence of God.' " 



PEACHY GILMER BRECKINRIDGE, 

OF BOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA; ACTING CAPTAIN CO. " B," 2D VIR- 
GINIA CAVALRY. 

Peachy Gilmer Breckinridge, son of Carey and Emma 
Gilmer Breckinridge, of Botetourt County, Virginia, was born 
on the 15th of September, 1835. His character was a combi- 
nation of strong qualities, prominent among which was his 
courage, both physical and moral. It has, indeed, been said 
of him, that he never experienced the sensation of fear; but 
if he did, he seemed not to lose the power of self-possession, 
even in his youth, and under the most critical circumstances. 
While a boy, he was one day skating with his schoolmates, 
when the ice broke, and he went down beyond his depth. He 
rose to the surface ; but with each effort to extricate himself 
the ice gave way. One of his companions who was very fond 
of him was hastening to his assistance, when Gilmer shouted 
to him to go back or he would certainly be drowned. Reach- 
ing, at length, a point where the ice was firmer, he climbed 
out without help. 

His affection for his mother and respect for her wishes was 
another marked characteristic. When about eighteen, the age 
at which so many young men think it an evidence of their 
manhood to disregard the injunctions of their parents, Gilmer 
was visiting some friends who played cards for amusement ; 
they wished him to join them, but he declined, saying that he 



68 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

did not know how. They urged him to learn, and, when he 
refused, demanded his reason. He simply replied, " My mother 
does not wish me to play." 

In 1853 he entered the Virginia Military Institute, and there 
received the education which eminently fitted him for the ser- 
vice his country afterwards demanded at his hands. His first 
year at the Institute was marked by a determination to resist 
the tyranny always exercised by older cadets over the " plebs." 
Few young men have ever succeeded in their efforts to with- 
stand the combinations of the advanced classes ; indeed, the 
submission of the plebeians is a custom so time-honored that 
few of them ever think of attempting to violate it. If it is a 
custom " more honored in the breach than in the observance," 
Gilmer Breckinridge paid it the highest respect : he never 
surrendered to Jus seniors. 

He next pursued a course at William and Mary College, 
and in 1857 entered the University of Virginia as a law stu- 
dent. The following summer he joined the Pacific Railroad 
Exploring Expedition, under Lieutenant Beale, of the United 
States army. One of his adventures during this trip came 
near costing him his life. The party was halting for several 
days on the Canadian River, when one morning he took his 
gun and went out in search of game. In the excitement of 
hunting he lost his bearings, and was not able to return to 
camp. For three days he wandered about, bewildered and 
without food, in a country filled with hostile Indians and wild 
beasts. On the morning of the third day he struck the trail, 
and, after walking a few miles, saw an Indian running towards 
him, yelling loudly; others soon appeared, rapidly approach- 
ing, and making the air ring with their shouts from every 
direction ; but he was pleasantly relieved at finding they were 
hunters, sent out in search of him. 

On his return from California, he commenced the practice 
of law, and was rapidly rising in his profession when the war 
broke out. In i860 he was married to Miss Julia Anthony. 

When the State Convention was called to consider the 
question of secession, he was nominated by the Fincastle 



PEACHY GILMER BRECKINRIDGE. 69 

paper as a candidate for that body. He was strongly opposed 
to the disruption of the government, and upon his acceptance 
of the nomination he issued an address to the people of Craig 
and Botetourt Counties, stating clearly his political views. The 
following extracts from that address serve to show at once his 
devotion to the Union, his strong, sarcastic method of argu- 
mentation, and his stern moral courage, for which he was 
conspicuous, illustrated in this case by his bold opposition 
to the popular feeling : 

..." But admitting that slavery is in danger, and that dis- 
union is the only remedy, let us see whether slavery is worth 
the Union. We must treat slaves as we would other property, 
and give it its value in dollars and cents. We must lay aside 
that romantic attachment for this peculiar property which 
would lead us to sacrifice everything else, and leave us in the 
possession of it without being able to enjoy it. If we separate 
from the North, it will be on account of the bad feeling exist- 
ing between us, so that there will be no hope of our being on 
terms of friendship hereafter. This, then, would compel us to 
keep a standing army on our northern frontier. Now, if the 
Legislature of Virginia allowed the hanging, not the trial or 
board, of seven men, who had been caught by the United 
States marines, to cost the State two hundred and twenty 
thousand dollars, how much would it cost to keep up an army 
of twenty thousand men ? But as we may, after the next gen- 
eral election, be blessed with a legislature which will have no 
ambition to hang abolitionists with military honors, I may 
state that it is calculated that to support twenty thousand 
men costs six million dollars a year. Now, would the slaves 
of Virginia be worth that much more out of the Union than 
they would be i)i it ? . . . 

" We are advised to secede, but no one has said what we 
are to do afterwards. We would have to establish a new 
government; but would it be a confederacy, a consolidated 
republic, or a monarchy? The party in whose hands the 
Union is dropping to pieces is the party which will have to 
make the new government. Now, is it likely that men who 



70 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

were unable to manage a government already made, and said 
to be the best in the world, could make a better? It is easier 
to pull down a government than it is to put up a better. . . . 

" While I intend to battle for the Union so long as we con- 
tinue in it, when Virginia decides to withdraw from it, and 
calls for volunteers to defend her from invasion, I do not ex- 
pect to be found far behind those who are now crying out so 
boldly for blood, except it be in retreat. He who raises his 
hand against the Constitution of the United States, which he 
is sworn to defend, will not be a reliable man even in a slave 
confederacy. Why is this disunion movement made? Why 
is slavery in danger? Demagogues, North and South, have 
fired the hearts of brother against brother. We forget that 
' a house divided against itself must fall.' We forget that, 
in destroying the Union, we but incite the hostility of foreign 
foes. Has every spark of patriotism died out in the souls of 
the people? If exiled in a foreign land, would the heart turn 
back to Virginia, or South Carolina, or New York, or to any 
one State as the cherished home of its pride ? No ; we would 
remember only that we were Americans. We would pine for 
the land whose goddess sits triumphant on her throne, — her 
foot upon the neck of tyrants, her ensign welcoming beneath 
its shelter the oppressed of distant nations. Away with your 
Palmetto flags ! Let the banner under which Washington 
fought wave over every blow that I strike in battle; and if I 
die the death of a soldier, let me be wrapped in the ' Star- 
spangled Banner' !" 

Gilmer Breckinridge was not elected to the convention ; 
but, when Virginia seceded, and called for troops to defend her 
borders, true to the words that he had uttered, he was among 
the first to answer her summons. He at once raised and 
equipped a company of infantry, and led it to the front. When 
the 28th Virginia Regiment was organized, his command be- 
came a part of it. 

At the reorganization of the army. Captain Breckinridge 
was not re-elected ; but, like Jubal Early, he went into service 
not as a secessionist, but as a Union man, fighting for the 



PEACHY GILMER BRECKINRIDGE. 



n 



rights of his old mother, Virginia. Accordingly, unmoved 
by this act of injustice, which stung to the quick so many 
of our best officers, he joined the State line, under General 
Floyd, recruited a company for it, and was promoted to a 
majority. When, at length, the State line was disbanded, he 
did not hesitate concerning his duty. In May, 1863, stepping 
down into the ranks, he enlisted in his brother's (Captain 
James Breckinridge) company of the 2d Cavalry. In this 
capacity, and as color-sergeant, he served — and by his faithful 
service honored his position — until the 24th of May, 1864, 
when he was assigned to the command of Company " B" 
of the same regiment. On that day occurred the attack on 
Kennon's Landing, and there he yielded up his life. The 
following statement of an officer engaged in that assault gives 
an account of Gilmer Breckinridge's death : 

" We dismounted, made the assault, and were repulsed. 
Major Breckinridge was wounded in the arm. We then 
changed our position and charged again through some ob- 
structions of fallen trees and sharpened limbs. Major Breck- 
inridge pushed on, working his way through the obstructions 
under a very heavy fire, and got within about fifty feet of the 
parapet, with only a few men around him, when he was seen 
to fall." 

It was impossible to bring him from the field, and so he 
sleeps in an unknown grave. His regimental commander. 
Colonel Thomas T. Munford, thus spoke of him in a letter 
to his parents : 

"Your noble son had won the admiration of all the officers 
and men of my regiment. Throwing aside pride at loss of 
rank, he came forward as a private to defend his country. 
His gallant bearing as the color-sergeant, his uniform, buoyant 
spirits under all circumstances, frequently volunteering when 
not called upon to go into a fight, had caused me to mention 
him in my reports, and he had been recommended for promo- 
tion, and assigned to the command of Company ' B,' as all the 
officers of that company were absent, wounded. It was at the 
head of his company he fell, striking for all that was dear to 



72 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

him. Virginia has made many sacrifices, but no nobler patriot 
has fallen than your noble son." 

The Breckinridge brothers yielded up their lives on differ- 
ent and distant fields, and found their resting-places none can 
tell when and how. But they were one in faith. Gilmer had 
long been a devoted Christian and a consistent member of the 
Episcopal Church ; and James had learned to kiss the hand 
that afflicted him. And so they too triumphed in death, and, 
springing heavenward, left their names to their countrymen, 
their graves to their God. — From University Memorial. 



A. A. BURGESS, 

OF CULPEPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 1ST VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Armistead Alexander Burgess, a son of Edward and 
Elizabeth F, Burgess, was born in Culpeper County, on the 
22d of November, 1843. 

After a previous training of some years, young Burgess was 
sent to the Virginia Military Institute, entering in July, i860, 
being at the time in his seventeenth year. His attainments 
enabled him to become a member of the second class, and in 
the semi-annual report of the Institute, for January, 1861, we 
find he had made excellent progress in his studies, having 
been specially successful in mathematics, standing fifth in a 
class of forty members. But the exigencies of the war, which 
at this time came upon us, prevented the completion of his 
education. The State of Virginia felt the need of expert drill- 
masters to train her volunteers gathering at Richmond. Gov- 
ernor Letcher assigned this duty to the corps of cadets. How 
well they performed that duty has been told. Cadet Burgess, 
as a member of that corps, executed the duties of his position 
satisfactorily and well. When the cadets were disbanded he 
returned to his home in Culpeper, and remained there until 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 73 

the following spring, when he left home for the purpose of 
joining the army. In the spring campaign of 1862 he attached 
himself to the 1st Regiment, Virginia Infantry, composed of 
troops from Richmond and vicinity. With this command he 
served until the battle of Seven Pines, May 31-, 1862, where he 
was killed, in charging a Federal battery. 

Cadet Burgess's youth, his age just nineteen at the time of 
his death, and short service, preclude any suppositions as to 
what his success, as a soldier or as an officer, might have 
been. Yet his duty had been well done, and he fell with his 
face to the foe. 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, Jr., 

OF NORTH CAROLINA ; COLONEL, 26tH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Colonel Henry King Burgwyn, Jr., the subject of this 
memoir, was descended on both sides of the house from 
families of high respectability, culture, and influence in their 
respective States. 

His paternal great-grandfather, John Burgwyn, of " The 
Hermitage," near Wilmington, North Carolina, came to this 
country from Herefordshire, in the west of England, when 
quite a young man, leaving an opulent home and influential 
family connections in the Old, to achieve success by his own 
unaided exertions in the New World. He settled at Wilming- 
ton, North Carolina. Soon became a prominent merchant, 
and was the first public man of this country to take ground 
against privateering, on which subject he corresponded with 
the English Cabinet as early as 1782. During the Revo- 
lutionary War he was President of the King's Council in the 
State of North Carolina, His eldest son, John Fanning Bur- 
gwyn, of New Berne, was also a merchant, and married Sarah 
Pierrepont Hunt, of New Jersey, a granddaughter of Jonathan 
Edwards, the distinguished theologian and metaphysician of 



74 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

New England. Henry King Burgwyn, Sr., the third son of 
the issue of this marriage, till the close of the late war, was a 
large planter on the Roanoke River, in Northampton County, 
North Carolina, and is now living in Richmond, Virginia. He 
married Anna Greenough, of Jamaica Plains, near Boston, 
Massachusetts. Eight children were the fruit of this union, 
six sons and two daughters, the eldest son being named after 
his father. 

Henry K. Burgwyn, Jr., was born at Jamaica Plains, on 
the 3d of October, 1841. Till he was nine years old he lived 
with his parents, who resided in Northampton County, North 
Carolina, on their plantation, having removed there shortly 
after he was born. Erom a very early period of his boyhood, 
till he was sent to boarding-school, he was instructed by 
private tutors, who lived in the family. The training he thus 
received was the most careful and judicious possible, and had 
a marked influence upon his after-career, especially in a 
spiritual point of view. 

When nine years of age his parents sent him to the school 
of the Rev. Erederick Gibson, near Baltimore, Maryland, and 
afterwards to the Episcopal School at Burlington, New Jersey. 
At both he was a diligent and conscientious student. 

Soon after he was fifteen years of age he received a warrant 
to enter as cadet at West Point ; but being in Washington, 
Mr. Jefferson Davis, who was then Secretary of War, inci- 
dentally learning that he wanted a few months of being of the 
prescribed age to enter the institution, declared the objection 
insurmountable, and that he would have to wait a year longer. 

He was then placed by his father under the tuition of the 
present General J. G. Foster, U. S. A., who was then a pro- 
fessor at the Academy, by whose instruction he acquired the 
same scientific information as was given at the institution, 
where he remained until General Eoster was ordered away. 

He then entered, as a partial course student, the University 
of his State, located at Chapel Hill; where, in two years, he 
graduated upon those studies which he had selected, sharing 
with the best scholars the highest honors of his classes, and 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 75 

having obtained the affectionate regard and esteem of his 
professors and fellow-students. 

His father being convinced that the questions which then 
agitated the North and South would find their arbitrament in 
war, determined that he should have all the advantages of a 
military education when compelled to take part in it, and 
therefore sent him to the Military Institute at Lexington, Vir- 
ginia ; where he matriculated August 10, 1859. Here he 
soon placed himself with the foremost of his class, and was 
among those selected by General, then Colonel, Smith, Super- 
intendent of the Academy, to act as a guard at the execution 
of John Brown at Harper's Ferry. 

At the breaking out of the late war, early in the spring of 
1 86 1, the corps of cadets having been ordered to Richmond, 
Virginia, Cadet Burgwyn, then in the graduating class and 
sharing its highest honors and distinctions, fulfilled the duties 
of an important office there under General Smith, until he 
deemed it his duty to offer his services to the Executive of 
his own State, — North Carolina. 

As an evidence of his course while at the Virginia Military 
Institute, we insert a letter from General Stonewall Jackson : 

" Lexington, Virginia, April 16, 1861. 

" Sir, — The object of this letter is to recommend Cadet H. 
K. Burgwyn, of North Carolina, for a commission in the 
artillery of the Southern Confederacy. Mr. B. is not only a 
high-toned Southern gentleman, but, in consequence of the 
highly practical as well as scientific character of his mind, he 
possesses qualities well calculated to make him an ornament, 
not only to the artillery, but to any branch of the military 
service. " T. J. Jackson, 

" Prof. Nat. Phil, and Instruc. in Artillery Tactics, V. M.I. 

" To L. P. Walker, Secretary of War!' 

The Governor, Ellis, soon placed him in command of the 
camp of instruction, for newly-arrived volunteers, located just 
outside of Raleigh ; where he conducted a system of severe 



ye INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

drill and military duties, which obtained the commendation of 
all who witnessed its effects. His military capacity, amenity 
of manner, and close attention to the comfort of his men, 
soon won their confidence and affection, and, on the formation 
of the 26th Regiment, composed of companies then stationed 
at the camp of instruction, on the 27th of August, 1861, he 
was elected its lieutenant-colonel, under Zebulon B. Vance, 
afterwards Governor of the State, as colonel. 

The regiment immediately after its organization was ordered 
to the sea-coast of North Carolina to aid in protecting Fort 
Macon, commanding Beaufort harbor, and situated at the 
eastern terminus of the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, 
over which many supplies were conveyed into the Con- 
federacy. That late gallant and chivalrous officer from North 
Carolina, General L. O. B. Branch, killed at Sharpsburg, then 
commanded at New Berne, and the 26th North Carolina Regi- 
ment was a part of the force assigned to him to defend that 
important position. 

As showing the mature and military judgment of Colonel 
BuRGWYN, then not twenty years of age, we copy the plan 
which he formed by himself to defend this coast. This was 
found among his papers after his death : 

"There are two points which, in my opinion, are the key- 
points of this coast. One is at Captain Penders's Battery, 
where both regiments (the 26th and 7th North Carolina Regi- 
ments) are now stationed, and the other is a position similar 
to this but about two miles nearer the fort (Macon). At 
this latter position the chaparral (which is impenetrable) 
runs close up to the sandbanks, which are quite high and 
difficult of access. If now the enemy, familiar with the con- 
figurations of the ground, were to take this latter position, 
our retreat would probably be cut off from the shore, and our 
communication with the fort would certainly be interrupted. 
It seems, then, higlily important to guard this position. My 
plan is to place the 7th Regiment at that place, allowing us 
to retain our position here. Then place the companies of the 
26th and of the 7th Regiments three hundred yards apart, vary- 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. yy 

ing the distance slightly so as to place each company behind 
high sand-banks. The two regiments would thus occupy a 
line of six thousand yards, about three and a half miles. The 
entire distance between us and the fort is about six miles, thus 
leaving only two and a half miles unguarded, which is in 
range of the columbiads and rifled cannon of the fort. 

" To an enemy, therefore, who attempted to land between 
the extreme left of our line and the fort, there would be 
opposed the fire from the fort and the defense of at least one 
company, whieh could be reinforced in half an hour by the 
entire force of the two regiments. Apparently this scattering 
of our forces might subject us to be beaten in detail. 

" Let us look a little closer, however. One force can only 
truly be said to weaken itself when the force to which it is 
opposed can concentrate in a less period of time. Now, it will 
take an enemy at least several hours to fill his boats with 
men, and at least twenty to thirty minutes to row them 
ashore. In that time, allowing our forces only the ordinary 
double-quick step, we can easily concentrate both regiments, 
if the attack is made on our centre, or one entire regiment, if 
made on our extreme right or left ; and in the same period of 
time the other regiment could be concentrated if the attack 
were made on one of our extremities, so that we could oppose 
to the enemy's landing one entire regiment, even if he were 
not to indicate to us his landing-point by means of his prepa- 
rations. The advantages of thus scattering our forces are: ist. 
That by making each company at night guard the three hun- 
dred paces it has to defend, we would have a chain of sentinels 
for six miles, whereas we now have them for only two thou- 
sand yards. 2d. By making each company construct bomb- 
proof shelters and a fine road for itself behind the sand-banks 
the danger from the enemy's shells is absolutely nothing, and 
that great desideratum — a military road to secure our com- 
munications — is obtained. To guard still more effectually 
against a night attack I would place a barrel of turpentine in 
the interval between each company, and whenever a well- 
founded alarm is raised set fire to the barrels, and with the 



yS INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

light thus thrown upon the enemy, ourselves being in the 
shade, we might defy his attack and increase our defense; 
besides, the moral effect of such a brilliant and unexpected 
pyrotechnic display would be quite prodigious. 

" I greatly lament that I have been unable to excite more 
attention to the necessity of aiding nature by art and render- 
ing our security perfect." 

Colonel Burgwyn's regiment participated but partially in 
the battle which occurred at the taking of New Berne by 
General Burnside early in the spring of 1862. 

Owing to the non-arrival of twelve hundred men which 
General Branch had been assured would be sent him in time 
for the battle, but which never arrived, there was a gap of some 
four hundred and fifty yards in the centre of our line of 
defense totally undefended, which the enemy at once dis- 
covered, and directing their attack to that point they easily 
turned our position, necessitating a retreat of the right wing, 
on the extreme right of which was placed the 26th Regiment. 
In the retreat of the regiment it became divided. Colonel 
BuKGWYN, conducting his part of it, came to a deep but narrow 
river which it was necessary to cross at once in order to place 
it between himself and the pursuing and victorious enemy. 
But two small canoes could be found ; by means of which, 
with the exercise of the greatest coolness and firmness on his 
part, he saw all of his men carried across and then himself 
followed them, while a large force of the victorious enemy 
were in plain view of his scouts during the entire time of four 
hours which it required to transport the men across the river. 

Upon the election of Colonel Vance as Governor of North 
Carolina, in the summer of 1862, it was objected on the part 
of General Robert Ransom, of North Carolina, recently as- 
signed to the command of the brigade to which the 26th 
Regiment was attached, that Colonel Burgwyn's extreme 
youth rendered him unfit to have command of so large a 
regiment; but Major-General D. H. Hill, who had previously 
commanded at New Berne, and at the time commanded the 
division to which Ransom's Brigade was attached, wrote to 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 79 

the War Department that " Lieutenant-Colonel Burgwyn has 
shown the highest qualities of a soldier and oifficer, in the 
camp and on the battle-field, and ought, by all means, to be 
promoted." Of course Colonel Burgwyn received the pro- 
motion, and subsequently was strongly recommended for the 
position of Brigadier-General. In the bloody battles around 
Richmond, in May and June, 1862, ending with the terrific 
conflict at Malvern Hill, "the 26th Regiment was unsurpassed 
for heroism by any troops on the field." In the following 
September Colonel Burgwyn's regiment was transferred to the 
brigade of the late General J. Johnson Pettigrew, of North 
Carolina, in whose death, at Falling Waters, in July, 1863, 
the Southern Confederacy lost the ablest officer in her army 
from the State of North Carolina. 

General Pettigrew being assigned to make the defensive 
campaign of Eastern North Carolina for the winter of 1862-3, 
determined to attack and capture, if possible, one of the en- 
emy's forts on the north side of the New Berne, and to break 
up his facilities for penetrating the State and threatening its 
capital. Accordingly, he moved with great celerity and pre- 
caution among the woods and swamps of that region of the 
State, and came close upon the fort before daylight, taking it 
wholly unprepared. Colonel Burgwyn proposed to the gen- 
eral commanding to lead his regiment to the attack, eo instanti, 
and promised to deliver the fort to him in twenty minutes; but 
the general preferred to summon it to surrender, in reply to 
which the commanding officer demanded a delay of half an 
hour, which being granted him, he availed himself of it to 
signal the gunboats in the river opposite, which at the expira- 
tion of that time opened a heavy fire on our troops. General 
Pettigrew not deeming it proper to expose his troops to the 
united fire of the fort and gunboats, withdrew them, and the 
campaign effected little more than to keep the enemy within 
their lines for the time being. 

During this winter, General Foster, the former instructor of 
Colonel B., then in command of the United States forces at 
New Berne, organized an expedition with a view to the cap- 



8o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ture of Raleigh and Wcldon, both objective-points with the 
enemy. 

This expedition, consisting of about thirteen thousand men 
of all arms of the service, arrived at the town of Washington, 
on the Tar River, at the same hour that Colonel Burgwyn ap- 
proached that place, he having been detached by Colonel Rad- 
cliffe, 6 1 St North Carolina Regiment, to protect his rear from 
attack, byway of Washington, while he. Colonel R., with three 
regiments, went to capture the town of Plymouth, situated at 
the mouth of the Roanoke River. 

Colonel Burgwyn selecting a very favorable point for de- 
fense at Rawle's Mill, left his lieutenant-colonel (Lane) and 
half of his regiment to throw up field-works bearing upon the 
passage of the ford at that place, while he himself marched 
with the other half, twenty-seven miles across the peninsula, 
in the direction of Washington. When near that town his 
scouts brought him word that a large force of the enemy were 
disembarking from numerous gunboats and steamers, anchored 
in the river opposite to the town, and marching in his direc- 
tion. Colonel Burgwyn at once conceived that the enemy's 
object was to cut off and capture the three regiments under 
Colonel Radcliffe's command destined for Plymouth. He at 
once dispatched couriers to Colonel Radcliffe, warning him to 
retreat, and to Lieutenant-Colonel Lane, at Rawle's Mill, 
ordering him to complete his field-works as rapidly as pos- 
sible. In what follows we have an exhibition of uncommon 
coolness and military judgment ; at least uncommon in one 
so young and unexperienced in the art of war. Colonel 
Radcliffe having advanced some distance on his march to 
Plymouth, it was necessary to hold the position at Rawle's 
Mill till he could retrace his steps to that place, otherwise his 
retreat would be cut off; hence the orders to Lieutenant-Col- 
onel Lane. There are two parallel roads leading from Wash- 
ington, North Carolina, to Colonel B.'s position at Rawle's 
Mill, distant from each other about a mile. 

It was necessary to know which of these roads the enemy 
would take before Colonel Burgwyn could decide upon his 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 8 1 

line of retreat ; for, should he select the same one with the 
enemy, his presence would assuredly be discovered by them, 
and having a large cavalry force, they could easily overtake 
him, and his small force of some four hundred men would be 
at the mercy of his powerful opponent; powerful in numbers, 
as well as in all the arms of the service, while Colonel BuR- 
GWYN had but infantry. 

No sooner had the enemy fairly taken up his line of march 
than Colonel Burgwyn with his handful of men rapidly took 
their way by the other road, the two forces marching side 
by side on parallel roads, a skirt of woods of about a mile in 
width separating them. The light equipment of his men, 
their knowledge of the country, and their appreciation of the 
situation, of which their enemy were ignorant, enabled Colonel 
Burgwyn to arrive at the Mill nearly an hour ahead of the 
enemy, and he at once prepared for action. Placing his men 
behind the low field-works which had been thrown up in 
echelon lines, so as to concentrate the heaviest fire possible 
upon the centre of the ford, he cautioned them to reserve their 
fire till the enemy were well advanced in the water. His prep- 
arations were not completed when the enemy appeared and 
boldly plunged into the stream, about three feet deep, little 
dreaming of what was before them. As soon as the ford was 
well filled. Major Jones, of the regiment, — afterwards its gallant 
young lieutenant-colonel, killed at Brandy Station in the winter 
of 1864-5, — was heard, in a loud, deep, voice, giving the order, 
" Now's your time, boys ! Give it to them ! Make that water 
too hot to hold them !" A sheet of flame appeared from 
along the entire line of eight hundred men, and the water in 
their front was a confused, struggling mass of dead, dying, and 
panic-stricken men. 

Again and again for several hours the enemy made earnest 
efforts to cross the stream ; artillery was brought up, and still 
these few men resisted their powerful opponent. The Federal 
general then resolved to turn the ford at a point some two 
miles below, and ceased his attacks, which Colonel B. sus- 
pecting, he sent out scouts to ascertain the fact, who soon 

6 



82 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

returned with the news that Colonel Radcliffe with his three 
regiments had arrived, which rendered a longer retention of 
the position unnecessary. Colonel R. being the senior officer 
now assumed command and ordered a rapid retreat, which 
was effected in order and safety. Thus were these three regi- 
ments extricated from their perilous situation by the military 
skill of a young colonel not yet twenty-one years of age, sup- 
ported as he was by the bravery and discipline of his men, and 
their confidence in their commander. 

General J. G. Martin, a true son of the old North State, who 
had won his honors and experience on the battle-fields in 
Mexico, collecting what troops he could, now took the field 
against General Foster ; but could only gather about seven 
thousand men to oppose Foster's well-equipped force of thir- 
teen thousand. 

As soon as he had concentrated his troops General Martin 
called a council of war, to decide whether he should advance 
and attack General Foster, or remain on the defensive. Col- 
onel BuRGWYN, as the youngest officer present, was first called 
upon to give his opinion; this he did, unqualifiedly recom- 
mending an immediate advance with all their force, and a vig- 
orous attack on coming up with the enemy ; he was brought 
to this conclusion by the reports which his scouts and the 
neighboring country people brought of the demoralization of 
General Foster's forces, resulting from too free use of apple- 
brandy, which was very generally abundant in that country at 
that season of the year. Colonel B. thought this state of 
things would unfit the enemy for the struggle and manoeuvres 
of a vigorous attack, many of them, as the information was, 
being carried along in their wagons and ambulances. It was 
concluded, however, by the other members of the council, 
that the disparity of the forces was too great, and our greatly 
inferior equipment precluded the reasonable hope' of success. 
General Foster advanced as far as Goldsboro', but after a sharp 
encounter with our troops there, returned to his quarters at 
New Berne. 

In the spring of 1863, Pettigrew's Brigade was transferred 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 83 

from the seat of war in North CaroHna to that in Northern 
Virginia, and was assigned to Heth's Division. 

On that memorable morning of the ist of July, 1863, as 
Pettigrew's Brigade marched to take their position in the 
dreadful battle of Gettysburg, that was to last three days, a 
finer body of some three thousand men could not be found 
in General Lee's army. Well disciplined, having seen hard 
service, devoted to their brigade and regimental commanders, 
and confident in themselves, they marched with alacrity to the 
bloody field. The 26th Regiment (Colonel B.'s) was over 
eight hundred strong, with a full complement of field and 
company officers. What a change a few hours were to effect 
in that splendid body of men ! How mutilated and shattered 
its ranks were to be ! How mournful and sad in the slaughter 
that was to occur ! 

It was the fortune of the 26th Regiment, in the afternoon 
of that day, to have to assault one of the strongest positions 
of the enemy, defended by some of his best troops. The 
celebrated Iron Brigade in the Federal army, formed from 
picked troops of the Northwest, were in line of battle imme- 
diately in Colonel Burgwyn's front. It was the boast of this 
brigade that it had never encountered a similar force that had 
been able to resist its charge. About three o'clock in the 
afternoon the order was given to Colonel Burgwyn to charge 
and carry the position occupied by the enemy in his front. 
Calling for his colors, he stepped a few paces in front of his 
regiment, waved his sword above his head, and gave the order, 
" Now, boys, give them one Confederate yell, and rush in !" 
They were the last words of command he ever gave. As the 
regiment neared the woods, filled with the enemy's most 
trusted troops, the fire of musketry, grape, and canister con- 
centrated upon it beggars description ; still they pressed on, 
some few to reach those coveted woods and heights, but not 
their young commander. Turning slightly to see how his 
men were acting, which threw his right side towards the 
enemy, he was struck on that side, the ball passing through 
both lungs. As he fell, one of his men near him caught him 



84 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



\ 



and laid him gently on the ground to die. But his regiment 
faltered not. Lieutenant-Colonel Lane seizing the colors from 
his dying commander's hand, carried them aloft till he, too, 
was stricken down ; then Captain McCreery, of General Petti- 
grew's staff, gallantly bore them in advance, till a shell, carry- 
ing off his head, once more leveled them with the dust. 
Again and again, till eleven had, in succession, fallen with the 
colors of their regiment in their hands, did those gallant men 
bear aloft, amid the carnage of that dreadful day, the standard 
of their command. In a letter written by their brigade com- 
mander to their former colonel, then Governor Vance, their 
conduct on this occasion is thus spoken of: 

" Headquarters Pettigrew's Brigade, July 9, 1863. 

" Dear Sir, — Knowing that you would be anxious to hear 
from your old regiment, I embrace an opportunity to write 
you a hasty note. It covered itself with glory. This is no 
passing eulogium I pay them. It fell to the Jot of the 26th 
Regiment to charge one of the strongest positions possible. 
They drove certainly three, and we have every reason to 
believe, five, regiments out of the woods with a gallantry 
unsurpassed. Their loss has been heavy, very heavy, but the 
missing are on the battle-field and in the hospital. Both on 
the ist and 3d your old command did honor to your associa- 
tion with them, and to the State they represented. 

******** 

" Very respectfully your obedient servant, 

"J. J. Pettigrew, Brigadier-General. 
" Gov. Z. B. Vance." 

In these two days of fighting, the regiment lost enormously. 
But our duty for the present is not with the victorious regiment, 
but with its dying colonel. As the regiment passed on, Cap- 
tain Young, of General Pettigrew's staff, rode up, and asked 
Colonel BuRGWYN if he was badly hurt. " Yes," was the reply. 
"I have but a short time to live; let me lie here and die." 
To Captain Young's offers of services he replied requesting 
him to deliver a few messages to his parents and family, and 



HENRY K. BURGWYN, JR. 85 

to commend his men favorably to the general, saying, " They 
never failed me, and never will."* He lived but a short time, 
and died where he fell on the field of battle, as all true men 
should be willing to do, when in defense of their country. 

Captain J. J. Young, of Wake County, North Carolina, 
quartermaster of the regiment, and Colonel Burgwyn's inti- 
mate and esteemed friend, thus writes to his parents in refer- 
ence to their son's death : 

" It was near sunrise on the morning of the following day 
when I arrived in the vicinity of the battle-field of the 1st. I 
immediately went after the corpse. Major Jones had a guard 
placed over it during the night, having had it removed about 
shalf a mile to the rear. How beautiful he looked even in 
death! There was none of the usual hideous appearance 
generally apparent in those killed while contending in mortal 
strife; but he looked like one just fallen asleep. How could 
I doubt, looking on him, for a moment that his spirit had 
flown where sorrow and suffering are no more? I will here 
make a remark. The colonel and myself messed together; 
we were more intimately connected than men can possibly be 
in civil life, and I had an insight to his whole character. I 
have often been struck with his high sense of honor, especially 
in a spiritual view. He put his trust in a higher power than 
the puny arm of man could afford, and I would say to his 
afflicted relatives, Mourn not as those without a hope, but 
rather look forward to the time when they can meet him in 
endless happiness. 

* A remarkable coincidence between the death-scenes of Colonel H. K. BuR- 
GWYN, Jr., and his cousin, Captain John H. K. Burgwyn, U. S. A., who com- 
manded a large detachment of United States dragoons in the Mexican war, and 
was also shot through the body while leading a forlorn hope at the storming of 
Puebla de Taos. On being visited just before his death by General Sterling Price, 
commanding the expedition, who saying he would not fail to mention in his 
report to the War Department the gallantry and skill of Captain Burgwyn, the 
latter at once said, "And don't fail to state how well my men behaved; they 
never failed me at a single point." The similar consideration for his men shown 
by Colonel Burgwyn amid all his agonies on the fatal field of his death showed 
that each of these cousins possessed those noble traits that adorn and make 
beloved the noble soldier. 



36 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

" No surgeon attended him after he fell : one of Company B, 
the name I cannot find out, caught him and laid him gently on 
the ground. Captain Young, of General Pettigrew's staff, came 
up to him soon afterwards, and his last words were to him as 
Major Collins has described to you. I visited the spot the 
next day. A prettier place could not have been selected, if 
sought for, being in a dense shade of oak on the green grass. 
His scabbard had been shot away before. When he received 
his death-wound, he was a few steps in advance of the regi- 
ment, his sword in his right and the flag in his left hand, 
cheering on his men. He had turned to see how they were 
acting, which threw his right side to the enemy. The ball 
passed through both lungs, and he fell, or rather was laid, 
in such a position that he bled internally. The men passed 
on ; and here, under the broad canopy of heaven, he died as 
a patriot could only wish. He had some of his best stimu- 
lants in his flask. Captain Young gave it to him to drink, 
which revived him a little, when he sent the messages in 
Major Collins's note. No surgeon was needed, for he was 
beyond mortal aid. We buried him about seventy-five yards 
from the turnpike leading from Gettysburg to Chambersburg, 
on the right-hand side, two miles from the latter, directly east 
of a walnut-tree and near it. Captain Iredell, of the 47th, is 
on his left side, and Captain Wilson, Company " B," of the 
26th, on his right. I wrapped him closely in his red woolen 
blanket, to preserve the body as much as possible." 

A writer who had an " intimate knowledge of the character 
of Colonel Burgwyn" thus writes of him in an obituary notice : 

..." In person, he was tall, strong, handsome, and unusually 
commanding in appearance for one so young. . . . Both in 
mind and character he was mature: the one was solid, well 
balanced, and eminently practical ; the other was manly, 
elevated, free from the vices common to youth, modest, and 
warm-hearted. . . . Such was he to the outward world ; but 
he had one trait of character but too seldom found among the 
young of our day, — Xxx?, filial piety , which made him a young 
man that it was hard not to love. This was the great secret 



JOHN W. BURKE. 8/ 

of his knowing how to command men : he had learned per- 
fectly how to obey at home. The slightest wish of his parents 
became to him a law; and in respect to his mother, it united 
to a feeling of tenderness an anxiety to please her that gave 
his character a beauty and chivalrous bearing that we have 
rarely seen before. These qualifications and traits of character, 
together with his strong reverence for God, showed him to be 
a young man of uncommon promise, a loss to his family, his 
State, and to the Confederacy." 

At the close of the war his remains were removed to Ral- 
eigh, North Carolina, and interred in the Soldiers' Cemetery 
among those who had so often risked their lives at his com- 
mand, and of whom he had always said he would not order 
them to go where he was not willing to lead them. They 
were followed to the grave by a large concourse of sorrowing 
friends and neighbors, and their grateful affection still keeps it 
fresh and g-reen. 



JOHN W. BURKE, 

OF KING WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; SERGEANT, KING WILLIAM AR- 
TILLERY. 

John Waller Burke was born in Hanover County, Vir- 
ginia, March 4, 1842, but when an infant was taken to the 
native county of his ancestors. King William, and was reared 
at Spring Bank, the home of his parents, Robert and Margaret 
Anderson Burke. Placed at school at an early age, under the 
instruction of Mr. J. H. Pitts, a graduate of the Virginia 
Military Institute, and the Principal of Rumford Academy, a 
school well and favorably known, he remained until a year 
before the war. On the 5th of July, 1859, he entered the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, intending to remain until he should 
graduate; but in the spring of 1 861 he (with the corps of 
cadets) was ordered to Richmond to assist in drilling the 



88 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

companies of volunteers who were daily arriving at that point. 
The incalculable service rendered by the cadets at this camp 
of instruction cannot be too much dwelt upon. The utter 
helplessness of the volunteers, most of them men of position 
and means, entirely unused to the duties and hardships of mili- 
tary life, and thoroughly devoid of that capability to make 
themselves comfortable, the great characteristic of the old 
soldier, made it necessary to give them the example and in- 
strOction of those who had not only a theoretical knowledge 
of military science, but a practical experience in military dis- 
cipline and camp-life. This desideratum could not have been 
better supplied than it was by the corps of cadets ; fresh from 
their training, ardent in the cause, they made enthusiastic and 
efficient drill-masters, and soon succeeded in reducing to order 
the confused mass pouring into Richmond. After the com- 
pletion of this work the corps was disbanded. Cadet Burke 
returned to his home to await the re-opening of the Institute, 
which was announced for the following September. Reporting 
at that time, his furlough was extended until the following 
January, it being found impossible to resume operations at the 
Institute until that date. At the appointed time he was at his 
post, his family trusting that he might remain until he gradu- 
ated without further interruption, but in this they were doomed 
to disappointment; scarcely had he resumed his studies when 
letter after letter reached his father urging him to send a 
written consent that he might leave the Institute and enter 
the army. Like a blow this appeal fell upon his family ; his 
mother, with the most touching remonstrances, urged him 
to remain at school, but he seemed determined to remain 
inactive no longer. Soon a letter came, in which he said, 
"How will I feel, when the war will have closed, to know that 
I have taken no part in it?" There was no alternative: the 
permission was sent; so much was his mother affected, having 
already a son exposed to all a soldier's hardships in North- 
western Virginia, that a dispatch was sent to intercept the 
letter, but it was too late; when next heard of he had enlisted 
as a private in the King William Artillery, and had fought his 



JOHN W. BURKE. 89 

first battle at Williamsburg. Then on the tramp from day to 
day he plodded, tired, worn, and almost overcome by hardships 
and fatigue. All this he frankly acknowledged when with 
his family for the last time, a few months afterwards, having 
fought in many battles around Richmond, Fredericksburg, 
and numerous other places. As he sat with the loved ones at 
home telling them of his soldier-life, he said, "I have fought 
in twenty-seven steady battles, and know well I cannot escape 
always. Yes, I am as confident that my time must come soon 
as that I live now." When remonstrated with for entertaining 
such gloomy forebodings, he would reply, gravely, " Gladly 
would I give up an arm this moment in risk for future losses." 
Yet never once did he shrink from danger or shirk duty; ever 
present when his battery was in action, his comrades bear 
testimony to his undaunted bravery. Timid and retiring with 
strangers, it was often remarked how strange that he pos- 
sessed so much moral courage. No companion could ever 
recall the slightest rupture caused by an unkind word of his ; 
and yet when circumstances required it, in the shock of battle 
he stood fearless and unmoved. And so on many a hard- 
fought field he proved. 

Of Sergeant Burke's character as a soldier, and of the cir- 
cumstances of his death, the following letter from the com- 
manding officer of his battery, Captain Wm. P. Carter, will 
give an outline : 

" Young Burke was a sergeant in the King William Artil- 
lery at the time of the capture of the guns at Spottsylvania 
Court-House, May 12, 1864, where he was supposed to have 
been killed ; his body was never found, nor has scarcely a 
word been heard of him by his friends. Sergeant Burke 
was a brave and efficient soldier, particularly reliable and 
conscientious as to orders and duties. Always affable and re- 
spectful, he was one of the best drill-officers in the company. 
My impression is that he was in all the battles fought by the 
army of Northern Virginia, from the battle of Williamsburg, 
when our forces were retreating from Yorktown, to the 
bloody combat of May 12, 1864. And, I am sure, when the 



90 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



legion of Hancock charged over the Horse-Shoe Bend, at 
Spottsylvania Court-House, on that dreadful morning, under 
the banner of the immortal Lee, no braver spirit, no truer- 
hearted gentleman, went forth to meet the shock of death 
than Sergeant John W. Burke, of King William County, 
Virginia." 

Colonel Thos. H. Carter, who commanded the battalion to 
which the King William Artillery was attached, says of him : 

" Young Burke joined the company but a short time before 
I left it, as its commander; but I recall very well his gentle- 
manly and soldierly qualities, the courage and unusual spirit 
with which he always commanded his gun, and the repeated 
statement of Captain Carter, that he was his staunchest and 
most reliable non-commissioned officer. This was high praise 
in a company which distinguished itself whenever engaged, 
and drew from brave General D. H. Hill, at Seven Pines, in 
the heat of action, * I would rather command that battery 
than be President of the Confederate States.' " 

The circumstances of his death, more in detail, were as fol- 
lows. When the battery was captured confusion reigned in 
the Confederate lines, and many of our men were taken pris- 
oners. For months his family believed that he, too, was con- 
fined in the far-off prison walls. During the interval of their 
anxiety, an elder brother was brought home a mangled 
corpse ; but to alleviate their suffering, longingly their hopes 
turned to the absent one of the family circle. Days came 
and went. Prisoners returned, and yet no tidings came until 
a returned prisoner ventured to tell the little he knew. As 
the hurricane of balls swept over the field that day. Sergeant 
Burke fell, pierced through the body by one of the fatal mis- 
siles. A comrade, finding his strength fast failing, kindly sup- 
ported him, but the danger increasing, he bade his friend seek 
to save himself, saying, " Lay me down; I am dying." These 
were his last words, and in this trying hour we see the same 
magnanimity that characterized his life. A friend wrote the 
following lines, published just after the war in the "Southern 
Opinion" : 



THOMAS M. BURKE. 

" They bore him away from the ranks of the brave, 
Where the shafts of death were flying : 
And the last sad token of life he gave 
Was, 'lay me down; I am dying.' 

" To his countiy he gave his precious young life, 
While pure and unscathed by sorrow : 
And he heeds not the storm of contending strife, 
Nor clouds which may come on the morrow. 

" And many a friend shall mourn for the dead, 
On Freedom's altar lying, 
With him who reposes where meekly he said, 
' Now lay me down ; I am dying.' 

'* But who shall comfort the sorrowing ones, 
Who long have waited his coming, 
And knew not he slept with Virginia's brave sons, 
Where the sweet wild flower is blooming ? 

" May the mother, whose head in anguish is bowed, 
And the sisters who weep in despair. 
Be soothed when they think the young life bestowed 
Was resigned without anguish or care ! 

" He sleeps with the loved, the hallowed dead. 
Where many a hero is lying. 
In his own sunny land, where softly he said, 
' Now lay me down ; I am dying.' " 



91 



THOMAS M. BURKE, ' 

OF ESSEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, 55TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Thomas M. Burke, eldest son of James and Susan Burke, 
was born in Essex County, Virginia, April 20, 1829. Entered 
the Virginia Military Institute in August, 1848. Resigned 
after some time, and was engaged in farming in Essex County 
until the John Brown raid, when he raised a company x>{ in- 
fantry, and took part in the military operations during Brown's 
imprisonment and trial. In command of this company, which 



92 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



subsequently became Co. " F," 55th Virginia, he entered the 
service. Was stationed at Lowery's Point Battery until April, 
1862, when the regiment was ordered to Fredericksburg. 
Was there promoted major. From Fredericksburg the regi- 
ment was ordered to Richmond, and was engaged in the 
seven days' fight. In the first day's battle Major Burke was 
wounded in the left arm, and in the seventh and last day, at 
Frasier's Farm, June 30, 1862, he was killed. An excellent 
soldier and competent officer, he served from the beginning 
of hostilities, without intermission, until the day of his death. 



^A^ILLIAM H. CABELL, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; ORDERLY SERGEANT, CO. " D," CORPS CADETS. 

" Affliction's .seml:)lance weeps not at his tomb; 
Affliction's self laments his early doom." 

William H. Cabell, son of Dr. R. G. Cabell and Margaret 
Caskie Cabell, was born in the city of Richmond, on the 13th 
of November, 1845. His father is still a practitioner of medi- 
cine in his native city, where he has resided for many years. 
He was the grandson of Judge Wm. H. Cabell, fomerly Gov- 
ernor of Virginia, and during the latter part of his life Presi- 
dent of the Supreme Court of Appeals. On the maternal side 
he was descended from James Caskie, an eminent merchant 
and financier, and for many years President of the Bank of 
Virginia. His early education was superintended by his 
father, who, in the interval of practice, devoted much time to 
the instruction of his sons in the ancient languages and the 
elementary principles of the English tongue. After passing 
through the usual scholastic studies, he entered Richmond 
College as a student. Prof. Ryland, late President of that 
institution, wrote as follows to his father in consequence of 
his death : 



WILLIAM H. CABELL. q3 

" I am filled with grief to hear that your son, William H. 
Cabell, was among the slain at the late battle in the Valley. 
I write from a sick-bed to say how heartily you have my 
sympathy. You have lost a noble boy ! While here at school 
he was all that teacher and parent could desire, — quick, studi- 
ous, docile, apt to learn, and, for his age, far advanced, he 
certainly gave promise of usefulness and distinction ; and that 
promise he has redeemed ! Though a mere lad, he has illus- 
trated by his sublime, self-sacrificing course, and by his noble 
death, the highest virtues of our nature. Do not think that 
your labors and care in raising him are lost. He has done as 
much as many great men do, in a long life, for his country 
and his race." 

The virtues of his heart attracted to him many friends, and 
no boy was more popular and beloved. In his studies he was 
a proficient ; accomplished in Latin and Greek, he read in their 
original languages the classics for pleasure ; and his mind, of 
a grave and investigating nature, delighted in metaphysics and 
the solution of abstruse problems in mathematics. To an in- 
tellect thus trained and disciplined, he added a moral elevation 
which was the charm of his character. He possessed an in- 
flexible strength and determination of will which nothing 
could subdue. His affection and filial duty to his mother, 
whom he almost idolized, was evinced by an incident which 
occurred when he was not more than twelve years of age. 
Being very athletic, he distinguished himself in the gymnastic 
sports of youth, and, on one occasion, he unfortunately broke 
his arm. He was carried home by his companions in much 
alarm, and physicians were sent for to attend him. They 
found him with unusual composure, seated on a sofa in the 
passage, with his arm in a sling. It was suggested that he 
should be removed to his room, where he would be more 
comfortable, and where he could recline on his bed and be 
seen by his mother. To this proposal he at once positively 
objected, saying he feared its effect on his mother who was 
sick, and that he preferred to suffer additional pain where he 
was, rather than alarm and distress his mother by informing 



94 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



her of the injury he had received. The bones of the fractured 
arm were then adjusted, splints and bandages applied, and the 
little boy submitted to the operation without a tear or a 
murmur of complaint. This is only one of many examples 
which might be adduced, illustrating in early life the pre- 
dominant and peculiar traits for which he was afterwards 
noted. The same cool and dignified self-possession, mani- 
fested in boyhood, continued with him at College ^nd the 
Virginia Military Institute, and did not desert him in scenes 
of danger and death, when with intrepid steps and bared 
breast he marched into " the Valley of the Shadow of Death" 
in defense of his country's honor, as dear and sacred to him 
as his own. 

The events which occur in the domestic circle and in the 
life of a student are of a tranquil and contemplative nature, and 
possess little of brilliancy and eclat. They do not interest the 
public, but are cherished only by those to whom he is per- 
sonally known and who cling to him from consanguinity and 
love. There are no dramatic exploits, no salient and romantic 
deeds to please the imagination and arrest attention, but along 
"the cool sequestered vale of life" the youthful student "keeps 
the noiseless tenor of his way" unheeded and unknown save 
only by those with whom he associates and by whom he is 
loved. But in Cadet Cabell there was a germ of independ- 
ence, truthfulness, and honor which, like a halo of romance, 
during his whole life, distinguished him as a youth of no 
ordinary interest. His intellect was massive and of large 
proportions, his heart full of the tenderest sensibilities, with 
a courage which no danger could daunt, and a fortitude which 
no physical or mental distress could overcome. He was loved 
by a troop of friends, and from the achievements he made in 
his studies, the impression prevailed that he was destined to 
make his mark and attain renown in his future career. 

The war for our independence commenced in 1861. The 
whole State was in a blaze of military ardor, and patriotism 
fired the heart and nerved the arm of every true Southern 
man. The youth particularly panted to enlist in the army of 



WILLIAM H. CABELL. 



95 



the South, and every boy capable of bearing arms left the 
delights and comforts of home to defend the soil of his be- 
loved State. At this time Cadet Cabell was fifteen years of 
age, and, participating in the enthusiasm of the times, he 
sincerely desired to join the company of volunteers of which 
his brother, James Caskie Cabell, was lieutenant, and, as a 
private in the ranks, do his part in defense of the Southern 
Confederacy. At the solicitation of his father, who told him 
that having one son only seventeen years of age in the army, 
he was unwilling that another, of tenderer years and unable 
to bear the hardships of war, should at that time become a 
soldier, he reluctantly continued his studies until he should 
reach maturer years. To prepare him for military duty and 
to enable a mind so gifted with genius to be trained in the 
tactics and art of war, he had entered the Virginia Military 
Institute, and it was that seat of learning which became the 
theatre of his greatest triumphs in science, and where he won 
the highest distinction. At his final examination he was pro- 
nounced first on the list of Proficients and had his name illus- 
trated by a star. Here, as at other schools, Cadet Cabell 
was considered a youth of great promise, and most favorable 
anticipations were entertained of the brilliancy and usefulness 
of his future life. For industry, attention to his studies as a 
student and. a soldier, for moral and exemplary conduct, he 
invariably won from his preceptors the meed of applause. But 
these honors, enviable as they are, could not satisfy the crav- 
ings of his ambition. His heart, during th^ four long and 
gloomy years of the war, panted to join the army of the South. 
This was the theme and burden of his letters written to his 
parents. During his last session at the Institute and before 
he had attained the age of a conscript, he said he feared that 
the contest would be over, and independence achieved or lost 
without his contributing his mite in the final struggle. Re- 
peatedly did he say, in his letters to his parents and his brother, 
Lieutenant Cabell, that he had rather die than such should be 
the case. He was, in truth, willing, like the Roman Curtius, 
to devote himself if necessary to the salvation of his beloved 



96 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



and afflicted country. His desire was gratified, and, alas ! he 
fell a mart)^- in the vindication of a cause he loved with a 
hallowed devotion. 

It was in May, 1864, that General Breckinridge called for 
the aid of the cadets at the Institute to repel the invasion of 
the Federal army under General Sigel. Lexington and the 
Institute were in danger, and the cadets at once responded to 
the call, and marched to the scene of conflict. The health of 
Cadet Cabell had been for some months impaired; he had 
visited his father on furlough to obtain his professional advice, 
and was at the time of his march under medical treatment. 
He could reasonably, and with just cause, have declined the 
summons, and have remained at his quarters without dis- 
honor. His gallant spirit could not bear that his companions 
should go on this perilous enterprise, and he r;emain inglo- 
riously at home. He resolved to do his duty at all hazards, 
and he undertook the march. It is said that he nearly fainted 
from debility, fatigued and overpowered by the labors of the 
way. At night, before the battle of New Market, knowing 
that the cadets would participate in the action, he conversed 
confidentially with a friend and fellow-student. He spoke 
of the dangers of the impending conflict, saying he feared 
nothing for himself, and that he was willing to incur the 
hazard, but of his brother, Cadet R. G. Cabell, Jr., who was 
not more than sixteen, the idol of his revered mother, he 
spoke in the tenderest terms. He feared that his brother 
would be wounded or killed, and deplored either event, as, 
he said, he knew it would cause the death of his broken- 
hearted mother. 

He then retired a short distance from his comrades, and 
offered up a prayer for the preservation of his brother and 
himself in the expected battle, invoked the blessing of God 
on his parents, his absent brothers and sisters, and retired, 
weary and worn, to his soldier's bed. 

The battle of New Market occurred on Sunday, the 15th of 
May, 1864, and it was one of the most exciting of the war. 
The charges, the rapid movement of the batteries from one 



WILLIAM H. CABELL. 



97 



position to another, the impetuous action and the utter rout 
and discomfiture of the Northern forces, seldom .occurred on 
one field. The cadets were now in battle array. Cadet W. H. 
Cabell and Cadet Robert G. Cabell, Jr., two brothers, were sta- 
tioned in the same battalion. One portion of our line wavered 
under a fierce fire of canister and musketry, and to sustain it 
the cadets were ordered to advance. They rushed with all the 
enthusiasm and valor of youth impetuously to the charge, 
and every obstacle yielded to their unfaltering and unflinching 
courage. The flag of the cadets waved in triumph over the 
artillery of the North, and victory perched on the banners of 
the South. Cadet R. G. Cabell, Jr., passed bravely and unin- 
jured, and reached the enemy's cannon without a wound, 
while his noble, learned, accomplished, beloved, and unfor- 
tunate brother, struck by a cannon-ball in the chest, was left 
mortally wounded on the field of battle. The casualties and 
havoc of war, in the moment of triumph, are lost in the 
exultation of the victors, and the welkin rung with the shouts 
of the cadets, forgetting for a time the great price with which 
the battle had been won, R. G. Cabell, Jr., participated in the 
triumph, but he soon saw that his brother was missing, and 
with sad, foreboding heart, he retraced his steps to ascertain 
his fate. He found him dead in the path of the charge, his 
head pierced and torn by the fragment of a shell. Truthful 
as he was brave, sincere and ingenuous as he was accom- 
plished, affectionate and gentle, with every attribute which 
dignifies humanity, his " noble spirit sought the grave to rest 
forever there." 

In his annual report to the parents of the cadets. General 
F. H. Smith, Superintendent of the Institute, wrote to Dr. 
R. G. Cabell, the bereaved father of W. H. Cabell, saying, 
" Cadet William H. Cabell fell in the gallant discharge of 
his duty in the sanguinary battle of New Market, 15th May, 
1864." 

His remains, temporarily interred at New Market, were 

afterwards removed to Hollywood Cemetery, near the city of 

. Richmond, and by his side repose the ashes of his mother 

7 



gS INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

whom he so fondly loved, and who herself was a matron 
worthy to be the parent of a son possessed of so many virtues 
and so universally esteemed and beloved. 



ABRAM CABELL CARRINGTON, 

OF CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; FIRST LIEUTENANT, CO. " D," i8tH 
VIRGINIA infantry. 

Abram Cabell Carrington was born at Ridgeway, the seat 
of his father, on Staunton River, in Charlotte County, Virginia, 
October 15, 1831. His parents were Paul S. Carrington, Esq., 
son of Judge Paul Carrington, and Emma C, daughter of Judge 
Cabell, of the Supreme Court of Virginia. Thus his lineage 
connected him, on the one side, with the Cabells, whose posi- 
tion in the history of the State is too well known to require 
any recital here, and on the other, with the two Judges Car- 
rington of the Revolutionary era, and their numerous descend- 
ants. The other children of this marriage were two daughters, 
and Isaac, major in the Confederate service, and provost-mar- 
shal of Richmond, since deceased, Alexander, a clergyman of 
the Presbyterian Church, and Edgar Wirt, a captain in the 
Confederate service, who fell in the battle of Seven Pines. 

The birth and early years of the subject of this sketch were 
blessed with everything which was most enviable in the lot of 
a young Virginian of the times which have gone, — a rural 
home combining retirement, culture, and elegance, a home 
education under the eye of parents who postponed everything 
to the best interests of their children, and a society virtuous 
and Christian within and around the home of his youth. 

His classical education was prosecuted wholly under the 
eyes of his parents, until, in August, 1848, he became a cadet 
of the Virginia Military Institute. His health was then feeble, 
and prevented his completing the course. He resigned in a 



ABRAM CABELL CARRhVGTON. 



99 



short time, and, after spending three years at Mr. Franklin 
Minor's school, near Charlottesville, returned to his home 
pursuits. 

On the 7th of July, 1852, he was married to Miss Nancy 
Cabell, daughter of Clement C. Read, Esq., of Farmville, Vir- 
ginia. This estimable lady still survives him, in her native 
town, the faithful guardian of his four children. The first year 
of his married life was spent at Ridgeway with his parents, and 
his time was occupied in the instruction of his younger brother 
and sisters. In the autumn of 1853 he, with his brother Alex- 
ander, then a practicing attorney at law in Prince Edward 
County, bought a landed estate from Moses Tredway, Esq., 
and Mrs. Mary Hughes (the father and sister of the Hon. 
Judge Wm. M. Tredway), upon the waters of Buffalo, and 
about two miles from Hampden Sidney College. There both 
the brothers resided for a time together, Alexander pursuing 
first the legal and then the clerical profession, and Abram 
managing their joint property of lands and negroes. He was 
from the first an industrious and successful planter, and was 
one among the many instances which the young gentry of 
Virginia presents, and has always presented, to refute the ab- 
surd charge of effeminacy. His birth and breeding did not 
prevent his devoting himself, not only to a faithful superin- 
tendence of his affairs, but to the sturdiest manual labor. 
Under his energy, a dilapidated estate soon began to assume 
a new dress of beauty and fertility, and he grew steadily into 
a skillful and prosperous planter. 

Nothing occurred to mark the uneventful life of a country 
gentleman until May, 1855, when, after deliberate reflection, 
he made a profession of faith in Christ, and became a member 
of the College Church (Presbyterian), under the pastorate 
of the venerable B. H. Rice, D.D., of which his wife was 
already a member. P'rom the very first his modest, brave, 
and honorable nature displayed the refining influence of 
grace; and he assumed at once the standing of a thorough 
Christian. His religion was of that type which, like Joshua's 
and Caleb's, "followed the Lord fully." The result was, that 



100 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

within two years he was introduced into the eldership, with 
the unanimous approval of the church. To this office he was 
ordained October, 1856. In it he was a model of fidelity, 
ever postponing his private convenience to the calls and duties 
of the elder, firm in discipline, in purity of life an ensample to 
the flock, and ready to assume any burden of labor or respon- 
sibility to which duty called him ; so that, though of all men 
most modest and least pragmatical, he soon found the largest 
share of the church's work resting on his shoulders. His co- 
presbyters at the time of his ordination were, Samuel C. An- 
derson, Esq., Henry E. Watkins, Esq., Moses Tredway, Esq., 
Peyton Randolph Berkeley, M.D., Benjamin M. Terry, M.D., 
and Colonel Henry Stokes. 

The great and disastrous revolution of 1861 cast its shadows 
before it upon all reflective minds. One result of the Harper's 
Ferry raid was the completion of a volunteer infantry company 
in the western end of the county of Prince Edward, known 
first as the " Prospect Guards." Its captain was Edwin G. 
Wall, a graduate of the Military Institute, and a distinguished 
civil engineer. Mr. Carrington was its first lieutenant, Mr. 
Charles Price, his neighbor, the second, and Mr. Peyton R. 
Glenn, the third lieutenant. Mr. Carrington devoted himself 
with his usual quiet energy to the drilling and equipment of 
this company. As the spring of 1861 approached, while others 
were speculating about the turn which affairs would take, some 
asserting a peaceful secession, and others urging a passive 
policy upon Virginia, he silently made his preparations for 
leaving his family to go into the field. He was no talker 
of politics ; but his sound intelligence, and honest, manly 
heart, told him intuitively what Virginia had to expect, and 
what would be her duty. When others ventilated their in- 
genuity or zeal in theories of events, he, from the first, said, 
with a quiet air, " We shall be in the field in the spring ; I am 
arranging my business to go." Consequently, soon after the 
secession of Virginia, the Prospect Guards offered themselves 
to the Governor, were accepted, and went into the camp of 
instruction in May, 1861, at Richmond. Here they were 



ABRAM CABELL CARRINGTON. jqi 

embodied in the i8th Virginia Infantry, as Co. " D," and the 
remnant of the heroic band was captured at the battle of 
Sailor's Creek, in their native county, April, 1865, after having 
shared in all the great battles of the army of Northern Vir- 
ginia. The first colonel of the 18th was Robert E. Withers; 
the lieutenant-colonel, Henry C. Carrington (cousin of Abram); 
the major, George Cabell, of Pittsylvania. 

Early in June, 1861, the organization of the i8th was com- 
pleted, and the regiment was advanced to Manassas Junction, 
to form a part of the Jincleiis of an army under General Beau- 
regard. A short time before the first battle of Manassas it 
was organized, with the 28th Virginia, Colonel Robert Pres- 
ton, and the 19th Virginia, Colonel Strange, into a brigade, and 
commanded by Brigadier-General Philip St. George Cocke. 
The regiment was advanced, in July, first to Centreville, and 
then to Germantown, near Fairfax Court-House, where it re- 
mained until the brigade fell back before McDowell's advance, 
July 16. On reaching Centreville in retreat, the brigade Avas 
ordered to march towards Lewis's P'ord, on Bull Run, and 
Company " D" of the i8th was thrown out, west of Centre- 
ville and of the turnpike leading to the Stone Bridge, as a line 
of skirmishers. The sun was sultry, the thickets were tangled, 
the march from Germantown had already been arduous and 
rapid. When this scout was completed. Lieutenant Carring- 
ton was so exhausted by fatigue and sickness that he fainted 
(as not a few of the inexperienced soldiers had already done). 
He was placed upon a gun-carriage, and borne insensible to 
the bivouac of the regiment at Lewis's Ford. The combat of 
Bull Run having been fought by other brigades the next day, 
the 1 8th of July, there was then a lull in the storm. Lieu- 
tenant Carrington was advised by the colonel and the sur- 
geon to avail himself of this opportunity for retiring to the- 
baggage-train in the rear for rest and refreshment, being 
wholly unfit for duty. On Sunday morning, the 2ist, he was 
in his place again, not restored from his sickness, but so weary 
of the confusion and idleness of the train, and so determined 
to meet the enemy, that his weakness was forgotten. It is 



102 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

distinctly remembered how thoroughly disgusted he was with 
the disorganization and anarchy of the quartermaster's de- 
partment, and the selfishness and inefficiency of its officers 
during this furlough. 

On the memorable day of July 21, 1 861, the i8th Regiment 
was held in reserve at Lewis's Ford until the afternoon. After 
the immortal charge of Jackson's Stonewall Brigade, Lieu- 
tenant Carrington's regiment was ordered up to replace (with 
others) that body. It advanced to this, its maiden battle, 
solemn, but determined, and without a single straggler, 
skirmishing through the pine thickets with the Federal 
Zouaves, who had insinuated themselves completely into the 
rear of the ground held by Jackson, until they won their posi- 
tion upon the bloody plateau of the " Henry House." Here 
they awaited the formation of other troops into a new line of 
battle, under a hail of musketry and shells, and, at the signal, 
charged the enemy and assisted to sweep their last line of 
battle from the field. Where all behaved so well, it was diffi- 
cult to distinguish any. Lieutenant Carrington went with 
enthusiasm through the whole engagement and pursuit, cheer- 
ing on his men by voice and example. 

From the battle-field the regiment was advanced, first to 
Cub Run, then to a pestilential encampment at Centreville, and 
then to Fairfax Court-House. Here, at last. Lieutenant 
Carrington became one of the numerous victims to camp 
fever. About the ist of September he was sent to the rear 
sick. He found shelter in the house of a relative in Rich- 
mond, where he underwent a long and severe illness. Re- 
ceiving a convalescent furlough, he then came home, and as 
soon as he was able to ride, devoted himself to settling up his 
private affairs for a prolonged absence, and to recruiting for 
his company, to fill the gaps made rather by the fever than 
the sword. Foreseeing a long and doubtful war, he sold his 
estate, hired out his servants, and placed his wife and children 
under the protection of his father and father-in-law. Late in 
the autumn he returned to camp. Nothing occurred to break 
the monotony of the winter except the affair at Drainesville, 



ABRAM CABELL CARRLNGTON. 



103 



in which the i8th was sent upon a forced march to relieve 
General Stuart; arriving too late to do more than aid in bring- 
ing off the wounded. The long inaction of the muddy spring 
of 1862, the removal of the campaign to the Peninsula, and 
the overland march of the troops need not be related here. 

Upon the resignation of General Cocke, the brigade was 
given to General Pickett. Having received the accession of 
the 8th Virginia (General Eppa Hunton), it became thence- 
forth the fighting brigade, the nucleus of General Longstreet's 
Division. 

The next time the i8th met the enemy was at Williams- 
burg. There Lieutenant Carrington with his regiment was 
hotly engaged. Their immediate adversary was a New Jersey 
regiment, which assaulted their line in a wood, and rashly 
advanced so near that they could neither retire nor proceed. 
For an hour and a half the i8th held them in deadly grapple^ 
until they were almost annihilated. The i8th then retired 
with the army, leaving a few of its dead and wounded in the 
enemy's hands. 

The only part which the brigade took in the battle of Seven 
Pines was to hold the line of battle on the second day, and 
show front against the Federal army. The previous evening 
Lieutenant Carrington's brother Edgar had been killed in 
battle, serving as a volunteer, although holding at the time no 
commission, in the company which he had recently com- 
manded. This was a premonition of the fate which, in the 
next great struggle, awaited him. The seven days' battles 
came on, with the main outlines of which the Southern reader 
is acquainted. After the preliminary combats of the afternoon 
of June 26, at Mechanicsville and Ellyson's Mills, General 
Lee's plans required Jackson to engage the enemy's right at 
Cold Harbor, A. P. Hill his centre, and Longstreet, sweeping 
down the left bank of the Chickahominy, to drive in his left. 
The terrible struggle had hung in suspense far into the after- 
noon. Line after line of Confederates had been hurled back 
discomfited. Pickett's Brigade formed itself and advanced 
across a broad table-land of open field towards an almost 



I04 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

impregnable position upon the Watt farm. Batteries of long- 
rifled guns on the heights south of the Chickahominy enfiladed 
them at every step from the right. In front, the smooth field, 
after exposing them for a third of a mile to every shot, de- 
scended to the straight rivulet which formed the boundary, by 
its deep channel, between the farms of Gaines and Watt. This 
channel was filled with a line of Federal riflemen, who kept up 
a galling fire. The opposing slope was covered by open 
woods. Half-way up it, and just elevated enough to sweep 
the opposite field as a glacis, was another line of battle, pro- 
tected by a barricade of fallen trees and bales of hay. At the 
top of the ascent was a formidable line of artillery, supported 
by a third line of infantry. From this artillery and the three 
lines of infantry a constant fire was poured into the advancing 
Confederates. Colonel Withers had instructed his men, before 
beginning the perilous onset, that they were not to pause for 
the purpose of returning the enemy's fire, nor for any other; 
but to press steadily and rapidly forward with the bayonet, 
reserving their revenge until after the opposing lines were 
broken. This order was admirably executed until the advanc- 
ing line approached within fifty or sixty yards of the rivulet 
whose channel contained the foremost Federal line. Here 
the 1 8th Regiment passed through the debris of another, which 
had become panic-struck and was rushing to the rear in con- 
fusion. Colonel Withers, seeing the strangers flying so igno- 
miniously, made an effort to arrest their flight in the rear of 
his own regiment. His call to the fugitives to halt was heard 
and misunderstood by his own men. The fire of the enemy 
had become intolerably galling, and they supposed, not un- 
naturally, that he wished them to pause at this point and 
return it. The regiment thus for a few moments unfortunately 
arrested their victorious career, and began to fire upon the 
Federal lines with all their might. Their commander very 
soon perceiving their misconception, renewed the command 
to charge bayonets ; but his voice was inaudible amidst the 
roar of the musketry. The heroic men began to drop rapidly 
under the withering fire. Perceiving that he could not be 



ABRAM CABELL CAR RING TON. 105 

heard, he then said to himself, " My men will, at least, know 
what the advance of their colors means;" and riding to the 
front, he seized the flag and began to carry it towards the 
enemy. But at the moment he fell from his horse shot 
through the body. The other field officers being absent, the 
command of the regiment now devolved upon Captain Wall, 
and he gave the immediate command of Co. " D" to Lieu- 
tenant Carrington; and causing James Walthall, a private of 
the company, to rear the fallen standard and advance it, he 
shouted to the captains near him and to his lieutenant, 
" Forward, right into that ditch!" This movement was now 
comprehended by the remainder of the regiment. The whole 
line charged furiously ; Walthall was shot through the heart 
as he advanced with the colors ; but the regiment rushed 
down the declivity and leaped into the channel of the brook, 
as deep as the height of a man, upon the line which occupied 
it. Under the covert of that ditch there was a moment's 
pause, while the bayonet did its stern work upon such part of 
the enemy as had not escaped from it; and then the regiment 
leaped out upon the bank next the remaining Federal lines, 
and again rushed upon them. They did not even tarry to try 
conclusions, but fled, carrying away the third line into utter 
rout. As the men of the i8th ascended through the trees to 
the top of Watt's hill they beheld the open area of his farm 
black with confused masses of flying Yankees, while such of 
their guns as had not been captured were hurrying to a new 
position about six hundred or eight hundred yards to the rear. 
Captain Wall, throwing the regiment rapidly into an open 
order, advanced firing upon this mass. The supreme hour of 
revenge had now come, and the field was soon black with 
prostrate bodies. The Federal artillery now attempted to 
check the advance of the conquerors, with volleys of canister, 
firing recklessly upon their own fugitive comrades and their 
foes. Captain Wall was struck down by a canister-shot, and 
borne in turn to the rear severely wounded. But the regiment 
swept on, and paused not until the invaders were driven into 
the swamps of the Chickahominy, 



Io6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

In this desperate contest, one man out of every three in the 
whole regiment was struck. Lieutenant Carrington was now 
left in command of the company. In a letter written on the 
morning of the battle of Frasier's Farm, while describing the 
carnage through which he had passed on this day, he modestly 
says of himself, "Amidst it all, I lifted up my heart in prayer to 
God for safety, and, thanks to His holy name, He was pleased 
to hear me." In the same calm spirit he again committed 
himself to God in prayer and well-doing, with reference to the 
bloody day before him. 

His last hours were now approaching. During Saturday 
and Sunday the division of Longstreet lay upon its arms, 
watching the enemy. Monday morning, General Lee having 
ascertained that McClellan had evacuated his whole position, 
hurried his whole army after him ; and Longstreet was directed 
to pursue the midland route, between the river and the Wil- 
liamsburg roads, and to develop the position which he designed 
to assume. The result was that in the afternoon of June 30, 
McClellan's centre was encountered by this part of the Con- 
federate forces, at Frasier's Farm. The i8th Regiment was 
now reduced to but little more than half its strength, was 
without field officers, and, to a large extent, without captains. 
But it took its place in the bloody battle of the evening with 
undiminished spirit. Outnumbered many times by the enemy 
before him, Longstreet steadily drove back their masses until 
he had almost severed the Federal centre and right wing from 
Malvern Hill, upon which they were aiming to ccfncentrate. 
The 1 8th was thrown by this advance into a place where they 
were scourged by a fire from a detachment of Yankees, which 
they could not return with effect. The captains of the com- 
panies met for a moment to consult upon the best measure. 
Carrington was, as ever, modest, cool, and determined, and 
recommended that they should reform the remnant of the 
regiment and attack their persecutors with the bayonet. This 
plan was adopted. The shattered line again dashed forward, 
Carrington before his men, cheering them on, when he fell, 
with his face to the foe, a bullet through his heart, and was 



ABRAM CABELL CARRLNGTON. 



107 



dead in an instant. How enviable such a death for such a 
soldier! 

After the tempest of war was over, his men took up his 
corpse and sent it to his wife. The remains were quietly 
interred in the family cemetery, beside his younger brother 
Edgar's. But after the campaign of the year was ended, and 
such of his comrades and relatives as could be spared returned 
home on furlough, the session of his church ordered a memo- 
rial sermon to be preached for him in the College Church, 
This was done by one of the pastors, Rev. Dr. Dabney, who 
had been the first chaplain of the i8th, in the presence of a 
solemn and sympathizing crowd. From this sermon we ex- 
tract the following words: 

"If I did not know that my estimate is warmly sustained by 
all who knew him best, I should suspect myself of a too partial 
affection, and put a constraint upon my heart and lips. For 
truly can I say that my heart was knit to his, as the souls of 
David and Jonathan. And now that I have lost him, I can 
find no words to express my personal bereavement better than 
those of David in the requiem of his princely friend, ' How 
are the mighty fallen in the midst of battle ! O Jonathan, 
thou wast slain in thy high places — I am distressed for thee, 
my brother Jonathan ; very pleasant hast thou been unto me.' 
— [n. Sam. i. 25, 26.] 

" Need I commend his kindness as a neighbor, when I see 
so many glistening eyes before me attest it ? Need I remind 
you of his public spirit, his inflexible integrity, his courage for 
the right in this community ? On the graces of his character 
as son, brother, husband, father, in the interior circles of his 
home, the sacredness of the grief which his loss has left behind 
it almost forbid me to enlarge. Abram C. Carrington was 
the truest man with whose friendship it was ever my lot to be 
blest. Let him but be convinced, in his clear and honest 
judgment, of the call of duty, and his effort to accomplish it 
was as certain as the rising of the sun; and it was made at 
once, without a pause to consider whether the task was easy 
and pleasant, or arduous and repulsive. Let him once bestow 



I08 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

his friendship upon you, and he was yours in every trial, with 
fortune, and hand, and heart, and, if need be, hfe-blood." 

Rev. R. L. Dabney, D.D. 



JOSEPH H. CHENOWITH, 

OF RANDOLPH COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA; MAJOR, 3IST VIRGINIA INFAN- 
TRY. 

Joseph H. Chenowith, son of Lemuel Chenowith, Esq., 
and Nancy A., his wife, was born in Beverly, Randolph 
County, West Virginia, on the 8th of April, 1837. His father 
was a member of the West Virginia Legislature of 1871, his 
mother a great-granddaughter of John Hart, one of the sign- 
ers of the Declaration of Independence from New Jersey, 
Young Chenowith spent his childhood in his native place, 
where his family still reside, and received his early education 
at the school of Mr. Jas. H. Logan, who for many years has 
taught in Beverly. Here his course was commendable ; as a 
quiet, diffident, studious boy, he was remarkable. His teacher 
says of him : " He was a noble boy. . . . Whilst his fellows of 
equal age would be diverted by trifles, his mind was more in- 
clined to reach, to grasp that ' aliquid immensiim et infinitum^ 
which always leads to distinction and eminence." Receiving 
his appointment as a cadet in the Virginia Military Institute 
in 1855, he matriculated on the 21st of August of that year. 
Though not able at first to enter a high section of his class, 
by the end of the session he had worked his way up to the 
sixth stand on general merit. Continuing to improve each 
year, he became the " second distinguished graduate" of the 
class of 1859, standing first on mathematics, natural philoso- 
phy, engineering, moral philosophy, and rhetoric ; having a 
very remarkable talent for mathematics, never failing in a 
single instance to solve the numberless difficult problems 
given out to his class. During the last two years of his 



JOSEPH H. CHENOWITH. 109 

course he became an active member of the societ}^ of cadets ; 
was one of the best debaters, and medalist. 

Immediately after graduating-, Mr. Chenowith was ap- 
pointed assistant professor of mathematics, and assistant in- 
structor of artillery tactics, in which capacities he served until 
December, i860, when he was appointed professor of mathe- 
matics in the Maryland Agricultural College. Accepting this 
position, he performed the duties appertaining to it until the 
fall of 1 86 1, when, in response to a call made by the Governor 
of Virginia upon the graduates of the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, he went to Richmond, and received a commission as lieu- 
tenant in the provisional army. Owing to the large number 
of officers appointed, it was impossible to assign all to active 
duty, — Lieutenant Chenowith was one of this number; not 
understanding the state of the case, and being of a sensitive 
nature, he gave himself up to disappointment, and became 
very dissipated. This went on for some months, until, by the 
advice of a friend, he determined tp volunteer as a private. In 
accordance with this resolve, and one of reform made at the 
same time, he returned to his home, and after remaining there 
for a short while, in February, 1862, he volunteered in Com- 
pany " F," 31st Virginia Infantry. From the time he joined 
this company until the first of the following May he was em- 
ployed in assisting to drill the company, not unfrequently 
having charge of the entire regiment when on drill. " As a 
drill-master he had few equals, and no superior in the regiment." 

At the reorganization of the army in May, 1862, he was 
elected major of the 31st Virginia Infantry, attached to the 
command then stationed at Fair View, six miles west of 
Staunton, Brigadier-General Edward Johnson commanding. 
In the opening of the celebrated Valley campaign, shortly 
after this, General Stonewall Jackson, in connection with 
General Edward Johnson, advancing along the Staunton and 
Parkersburg Turnpike, met the advance of the Federal forces 
under General Milroy, and the sanguinary battle of McDowell 
ensued. It was in this engagement that Major Chenowith 
first saw active service. 



no INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

" When the heat of the engagement was fiercest, and our 
success seemed doubtful, Major Chenowith, in command of 
the left wing of the regiment (at that time detached), met 
and defeated a regiment of the enemy which had nearly 
succeeded in gaining the flank of our forces, thereby turning 
the tide of victory, otherwise doubtful, in our favor. When 
the regiment of the enemy, above alluded to, first made its 
appearance, coming from the direction it did, and partially 
hidden from view by dense foliage, the question arose whether 
they were foes or friends ; during the parley that followed 
Major Chenowith stepped up to me, and said, ' Captain, are 
those the enemy's troops ?' On being answered in the affirm- 
ative, he turned to the men and coolly said (although by 
this time the enemy were pouring their leaden hail into us), 
* Steady, men ! Ready ! Fire low and swift !' Our volley 
was delivered with fearful effect, when Major Chenowith, 
drawing his sword and waving it over his head, gave the 
command, ' Forward, double quick, march !' himself leading 
the charge, which was made with a will, and resulted in the 
dispersion of the enemy. To say the least. Major Cheno- 
with's conduct in this engagement was not only brave and 
gallant, but decidedly important to the success of our arms. 

" Immediately after the battle of McDowell, General Jack- 
son continued his memorable marching- Sind Jzg-/itmg caLmpaign 
down the Shenandoah Valley. In all the hardships, priva- 
tions, and dangers consequent upon this campaign, Major 
Chenowith bore a conspicuous and important part, ever 
cheering his men on to duty, and unflinchingly performing 
every duty assigned to himself; on one occasion being mainly 
instrumental in checking the advance of Fremont until our 
army passed through Strasburg. 

" In the fight at Cross Keys, on the 8th of June. 1862, Major 
Chenowith's gallant conduct was noticed by all who knew 
and saw him on that occasion. Our regiment was stationed 
on the extreme left of the army; the enemy several times 
attempted to carry our position, but were repulsed. During 
one of the intermissions occurring between these attacks, the 



JOSEPH H. CHENO WITH. 1 1 1 

writer had considerable conversation with the subject of this 
sketch, in which he (Major C.) expressed strong hopes of the 
ultimate success of our cause, at the same time seeming deeply- 
impressed with the idea that he would not live to see the end 
he hoped for. He spoke feelingly of the loved ones at home, 
expressing fears, however, that he would never see them again 
on earth. When night closed on the battle-field of Cross Keys, 
victory had again perched upon the banner of Stonewall Jack- 
son, and amid all that gallant throng of victors who had fought 
under their great captain, none had served their country and 
their cause more truly, more bravely, or better, than Major 
Chenowith. 

" On the morning of the 9th of June, the day after the battle 
of Cross Keys, as we were marching to attack Shields, the con- 
versation of the previous day was renewed, and he reiterated 
his presentiment of his coming death. Alas ! that it should 
have come so soon. Our regiment was again assigned to duty 
on the left; our position being a large wheat-field, luxuriant 
with the ripening grain. We had scarcely gained our posi- 
tion, when the dense column of the enemy were thrown for- 
ward and we were subjected to a most deadly and destructive 
front and enfilading fire ; so murderous, indeed, that of two 
hundred and twenty-six men in our regiment who went into 
battle, one hundred and sixteen were killed and wounded in 
that fatal wheat-field. Among the killed was Major Cheno- 
with ; he had dismounted, and, in the commencement of the 
fight, taken his position immediately behind the centre of the 
left wing of the regiment. As the battle progressed he passed 
down the line, around its left flank, and was advancing up the 
front, encouraging the men, and calling upon them to follow 
where he led, when he was shot, the ball entering just behind 
the left ear, and passing entirely through his head. He fell 
without a groan, his sword still in his grasp pointed toward 
the enemy, nobly discharging his duty. 

*' Thus fell Major Chenowith, one of Virginia's noblest 
sons, who, had he lived, might have ranked among the ablest 
and best soldiers of the age. 



112 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

" As a soldier he was brave and chivalrous ; as a com- 
mander firm and generous ; and as a companion kind, cour- 
teous, and true. In short, he combined all the qualities 
necessary to constitute the daring warrior and successful 
commander. We buried him on the battle-field, where he 
so nobly fought and so nobly died, with no pillow save his 
soldier's knapsack, and no shroud but his soldier's blanket; 
and yet we left him shrouded in the glory of his own noble 
deeds that no time can obliterate." 

The foregoing description of the military life and character 
of Major Chenowith was written by his friend and comrade, 
Captain J. F. Harding, of Company " F," 31st Virginia. 

To illustrate more fully the character of the man, as well as 
to show the radical change that had been wrought in him 
spiritually during his life as a soldier, this sketch shall be 
concluded by a few extracts from his diary, found on him after 
he was killed : 

" If I am doomed to fall during the war, I hope it may not 
be until we are satisfied, beyond the doubt of the most timid, 
that we will gain our independence in the end. If it should 
be otherwise, I am resigned ; God's will be done, not mine. 
I could part from earth, were I doomed to die soon, far more 
willingly if I could once more behold the faces of father, 
mother, sisters, and brothers; but if this should be denied me, 
I have only to say that they need not weep for me, but be 
proud rather, and smile when they remember that I died on 
the battle-field trying to do my duty to my country, fighting 
for what I considered her rights. 

"Near Harrisonlnirg, yune 6, 1862. — We camped here last 
night, and are marching towards Port Republic, but slowly 
over a rough road, made worse by long rain. I know not 
what our ultimate destination is, but I hope wc will soon have 
time to rest awhile in camp. Our troops are very much 
delighted at the news from Richmond. If we have really 
routed McClellan's grand army, our success in the end may 
be regarded as certain. 

" Three miles from Port Republic, Jime 8, 1 2 m. — A heavy 



JOSEPH H. CHENO WITH. 1 1 3 

cannonade is being kept up on the side of us next to Harrison- 
burg. Some of our men have been wounded. I saw one 
going to the rear. The 31st is supporting the battery which 
is engaged. I do not Hke our position, although it is a com- 
manding one. We may possibly have our flank turned, but 
jfacksoii is here, if Fremont is with the enemy. Our move- 
ments yesterday and to-day are incomprehensible to me, 

" Later. — There is a lull in the firing. I know not why. My 
fervent prayer is that our heavenly Father may lead our be- 
loved country safely through the labyrinth of troubles which 
envelop her, and give peace to her persecuted and much-tried 
people. We seek not, O God, for conquest, we ask only for 
that which Thou in Thy mercy wilt bestow. In the name of 
our Saviour grant, heavenly Father, strength to Thy weak 
and erring creature. Strength which will enable him to do 
his duty in every particular to Thee, his country, and to 
himself Amen. 

" Later, 2.30 p.m. — This is decidedly the warmest battle with 
which I've ever had anything to do. The artillery firing is 
superb, the musketry not so slow. We are in reserve, but 
shells fly around us thick and fast. We will soon be into it, 

"4.8 P.M. — We have been firing in the fight, and poor Lieu- 
tenant Whitby has been killed, shot through the head. A 
cannon has been planted on our left. Several of our poor 
men have been wounded. I pity them from the bottom of 
my heart. We will be at it again soon. And now, O God, 
I renew my earnest prayer for the forgiveness of my many 
sins, and for strength. In the name of Thy Son grant me 
mercy. Amen. 

"6.15 P.M. — All is now quiet. Our regiment (31st Virginia) 
is lying down in line of battle, in full view of the enemy's 
battery ; the same battery which, only an hour ago, was pour- 
ing grape into the regiment. Noble soldiers! it tortures me 
to see them wounded. How many of them now, as they rest 
looking quietly and dreamily up into the beautiful sky, are 
thinking of the dear ones at home, whom they have not seen 
for twelve months ! This is a hard life for us refugees who 

8 



114 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

fight and suffer on without one smile from those we love 
dearest to cheer us up. But by the blessing of God the fires 
of patriotism will keep our hearts warm, and a consciousness 
that we are trying to do our duty will always enable us to 
sleep sweetly when our day's work is done, and then we can 
wander in dreamland to the hearth-stones of our kindred, and 
see again in imagination's rosy light tlie loved faces of the dear 
ones at home. 

''Port Republic, jfiine 9, 1862, 8 o'clock a.m. — The ball is 
open again, and we are, from what I can see and hear, to have 
another hot day. It is Shields this time. I may not see the 
result, but I think we will gain the victory, although I do not 
think our men have had enough to eat. I cannot write on 
horseback." 

Thus ends the diary. He was killed shortly after the last 
words were written. Sleep had come to him before the day 
was o'er, but not till he had done his work. He had gone 
before to wait for the loved ones at home. 



JOSEPH B. CHERRY, 

OF NORTH CAROLINA; CAPTAIN, CO. " F," 4TH NORTH CAROLINA 

CAVALRY. 

Joseph B. Cherry was born in Bertie County, North Caro- 
lina, on the 4th of June, 1839. He was a son of Solomon 
Cherry, who was for a long period clerk of the Bertie County 
Court, and afterwards a leading commission merchant in Nor- 
folk, Virginia. His mother was a sister to the Hon. David 
Outlaw, who for a long while represented his district in Con- 
gress with distinguished ability. 

As a youth. Captain Cherry possessed an active mind, a 
brilliant imagination, and in disposition was generous, sin- 
cere, and noble. In August, 1856, he was sent to the Virginia 
Military Institute, and graduated in i860. The next year, 



JOSEPH B. CHERR V. 1 1 5 

reading law under Judge John W. Brockenbrough, LL.D,, in 
Lexington, he had just obtained license to practice his chosen 
profession when the war began. His youthful spirit fired with 
patriotic ambition, he at once gave his services to the cause of 
his fatherland. Acting in several different capacities, — at one 
time adjutant of the 8th North Carolina Infantry, commanded 
by the gallant and lamented Colonel Shaw; at another, serving 
under Stonewall Jackson as a member of his staff, — he was 
finally chosen captain of a company raised in his native 
county, Company " F," 4th North Carolina Cavalry. This 
office he held, performing faithful service on all occasions, 
until ten days before General Lee's surrender. On this day, 
March 29, 1865, leading his company in a skirmish on the 
military road about six miles south of Petersburg, he fell, 
mortally wounded. Taken to a hospital in Petersburg, he 
was watched over with anxious care by one of his comrades 
for four days; and just as the echoes of the last heavy guns, 
which had so long defended the beleaguered city, were dying 
away, his spirit took its departure. 

A soldier who had served his country through all the years 
of her struggle, he laid his life down just before the days came 
when he could serve her in battle no more. It seems hard to 
have escaped so long, and then, when the end was so near, to 
have been taken; but he was saved the dull, dreary anguish 
and suffering of retreat, and the bitterness of that hopeless 
day at Appomattox, 



Il6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

T. D. CLAIBORNE, 

OF DANVILLE, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, VIRGINIA BATTALION. 

T. D. Claiborne, son of Colonel L. Claiborne, was born in 
1847. Entered the Virginia Military Institute in January, 1854. 
Resigned. Entered military service in April, 1861, as captain 
of 1 8th Virginia Infantry. Promoted major, in 1863, of an 
independent battalion of infantry; lieutenant-colonel in 1863. 
Mortally wounded, and died 1864. 



A. W. CLOPTON, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA; ADJUTANT, 34TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Alfred Willoughby Clopton, the subject of this memoir, 
was the eldest son of E. A. J. Clopton, of Richmond, Virginia. 
From early childhood his good principles, sprightliness, and 
affectionate manners won the regard of all who knew him. 

As he advanced in age, an intellect of the highest order 
received every advantage from first-class instructors. No ex- 
pense was spared. Well was his devoted father rewarded by 
his rapid proficiency in every study in which he engaged. To 
an English education were added Latin, Greek, Spanish, and 
French. When very young, he read much on the subject of 
war, and evinced a decided taste for military affairs. He 
ardently desired to attend the Virginia Military Institute ; this 
wish was gratified. While there, Virginia seceded. Immedi- 
ately he determined to devote himself fully to his native State. 
In referring to his diary, we find how he began his military 
career. He says, " As soon as the difficulties assumed a hos- 
tile appearance, about one hundred and eighty of us were 



A. IV. CLOPTON. 



117 



ordered from the Virginia Military Institute to Richmond, to 
drill the soldiers before they went to the field. The ist of 
July we disbanded, having drilled from the 19th of April to 
the 1st of July about forty thousand soldiers. I was ap- 
pointed drill-master, with the rank of second lieutenant, and 
was attached to the 12th Regiment of North Carolina Volun- 
teers by orders from headquarters." He was afterwards trans- 
ferred to the 34th North Carolina Regiment, with the rank of 
adjutant. But, in March, 1862, he decided to enter the cavalry 
as a private, under our dashing cavalry officer, General Stuart, 
in which branch of the service he remained till the close of 
his life. In April he passed through Richmond en route for 
the Peninsula, where he was engaged in the battle of Williams- 
burg, on the 5th of May ; in June at Cold Harbor; at Malvern 
Hill, through which severe engagement he passed unscathed ; 
at Kelley's Ford, and Catlett's Station, losing his horse at the 
latter place; and again at Manassas. He accompanied his 
command to Sharpsburg, returning barefoot, and leading his 
worn-out horse. As soon as he could wear his boots and get 
a fresh horse, he re-formed his company. At Fredericksburg 
he assisted in the defense. At Chancellorsville, and the various 
skirmishes afterwards, he was with his troops, and, in July, 
with them at Boonsboro' ; in October, at Brandy Station. 
Fitz. Lee disbanded his brigade in January, 1864, for them to 
recruit. Alfred was spending his interval of rest with friends 
in Cumberland, when Kilpatrick and Dahlgren attempted the 
raid on Richmond. One of the regiments of his brigade being 
recalled, unable to hear from his own, such was his desire 
to be at the post of duty, that he left his happy companions 
to again pursue the path of war. During the spring of 1864 
he was in all the encounters from Fredericksburg to Yellow 
Tavern, where Stuart fell. At Ream's Station he was engaged 
in his conflict for the last time with earthly foes, from which 
place he came, weary, but ready still to keep his saddle. With 
feeble health, but an indomitable will, and a determined pur- 
pose to serve his country, he started, on the 7th of August, 
1864, with the army for Maryland. He reached the Rappahan- 



Il8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

nock, and could go no farther, — exhausted nature c^ave way, 
and the brave youth, who had never quailed before the enemy, 
who had stood firmly at the post of danger, had to succumb 
to disease. A kind family (name unknown) took him in, and 
did all that a stranger's heart could dictate. But the sick, sad 
one yearned for his home, for the love and sympathy of affec- 
tionate parents, brothers, and sisters. On the 21st of August 
he arrived at his loved, his happy home, no more to leave it 
for the hardships and dangers of war, there to lay his young 
life on the altar of his country. His disease was typhoid 
fever, terminating in congestion of the brain. In his delirious 
hours he would call out, " Lee's army, where is Lee's army?" 
And in lucid intervals his anxiety would manifest itself by 
such questions as, "Where is the army? Where is Lee ? Is he 
successful?" He had but few rational moments; his sufferings 
were great, and borne with patience. On the 9th of Septem- 
ber, 1864, in the twenty-second year of his age, he was re- 
leased, we hope, from all pain, and entered into that "rest that 
remains to the people of God." 

Thus passed from earth a bright star. There seemed a 
mysterious Providence in this dispensation. We cannot see 
wJiy one so gifted, so loved, the light of every circle in which 
he went, the joy and pride of his family, on whom so many 
proud hopes rested, should bow so early to the sceptre of 
Death. God has said, "What I do thou knowest not now, 
but shalt know hereafter." We acquiesce. 



A. D. COLCOTT. 



119 



A. D. COLCOTT, 

OF ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 3D 
VIRGINIA INFANTRY, 

A. D. CoLCOTT was born in Isle of Wight County, Vir- 
ginia, in 1830. Entered the Virginia Military Institute in July, 
1847, '^'"'d graduated in July, 185 1. Previous to the war, was 
engaged in teaching in his native county. At the beginning 
of hostilities he raised a company of volunteers, and entered 
the service as captain of Company "I," 3d Virginia Infantry. 
At the reorganization of the army was elected major of his 
regiment, and served as such until August, 1862, when he 
was promoted lieutenant-colonel. The duties of this office 
he discharged faithfully until his death at Gettysburg, July 3, 
1863. 

Colonel E. M. Morrison, of the 15th Virginia, in speaking 
of Colonel CoLCOTT, says, " Colonel Colcott was a man uni- 
versally beloved in his county and community, in which he 
did much good, especially among the poor and needy around 
him. He was a man of the strictest integrity and prominent 
Christian virtues, and energetic in good works, as evinced in 
the organization of several day- and Sunday-schools, the means 
of great good in his neighborhood. 

" In the army he was inflexible in the discharge of his 
duty, enjoyed the unbounded confidence of his superior offi- 
cers, the esteem and regard of his equals in rank, and the 
utmost love and confidence of his men. 

" He was killed at Gettysburg, one of the heroes of Pickett's 
Division, .nobly doing his duty; and, although his remains are 
far from us, buried on the field of battle, his memory is still 
green in the hearts of his surviving comrades, and in the 
whole community in which he lived; for we know the cause 
for which he fought and died had no truer defender, nor any 
community a more benevolent, upright, Christian gentleman." 



120 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON, 

OF BERKELEY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 2D REGIMENT 
VIRGINIA VOLUNTEERS, '* STONEWALL BRIGADE." 

The record of this true gentleman and brave soldier is well 
worth preserving. Raleigh Thomas Colston was the eldest 
son of Colonel Edward Colston, of Honeywood, Berkeley 
County, Virginia, and of S. Jane Brockenbrough. He was born 
in Richmond, Virginia, on the i8th of February, 1834, at the 
house of his maternal grandfather. Judge William Brocken- 
brough, of the Court of Appeals of Virginia; a gentleman 
distinguished for the soundness of his legal knowledge and 
honored for the purity of his life, during a period when the 
old Commonwealth could point with becoming pride to the 
unsullied ermine of her judiciary. His father, Colonel Ed- 
ward Colston, the eldest son of Raleigh Colston, Esq., and 
of Elizabeth Marshall, sister of Chief-Justice Marshall, was 
widely known and universally beloved and respected for all 
the qualities which adorn a man and a Christian. His virtues 
were reflected in his son. 

The subject of this memoir entered the Virginia Military 
Institute during the summer of 1850, but in consequence of 
the sudden death of his father was recalled home in December, 
185 1. Although not eighteen years of age at this time, he set 
in earnestly to aid his mother in the management of a large 
and embarrassed estate, and displayed a steadfastness of pur- 
pose which would have reflected credit upon an older head. 
In his boyhood and early manhood he was distinguished for 
his unselfishness and tender devotion to his younger brothers 
and sisters, and for an almost passionate love for his beautiful 
home on the Potomac. 

By nature his disposition was sensitive and modest in the 
extreme, so shrinking and retiring that only those who knew 
him well enough to have an insight into his heart could know 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. I2i 

the depth and benevolence of feeling which governed his con- 
duct and made him almost the idol of his family and home. 
But the hardships and trials of our late struggle for independ- 
ence brought out the real strength and nobility of his char- 
acter. Having espoused the cause which he believed and felt 
to be right, his patriotism and devotion burned under all 
circumstances with a zeal and steadiness which knew no 

Immediately after the John Brown raid, when volunteer 
companies were formed in every part of Virginia, he assisted 
in raising a company in his neighborhood, which, first as lieu- 
tenant then as captain, he drilled with much patience and per- 
severance. Many of the men composing this company were 
enthusiastic home soldiers, never dreaming that the cloud 
which hung over the country was to gather darkness thick 
and heavy in its course, and soon to burst with terrific fury 
over the troubled land. 

When the news arrived in our locality that Virginia had 
really withdrawn from the Federal Union and that war was 
inevitable, it required all the firmness and resolution of a 
determined spirit to prevent the disbanding of the company. 
At length the tocsin sounded, and " at midnight there was a 
cry made," the voice of command was heard under the win- 
dows of that secluded and peaceful home requiring Captain 
Colston to report with his company at Harper's Ferry by 
nine o'clock on the following morning. Captain C. and his 
brother William (who was a private in his company), thus 
suddenly aroused, mounted their horses in midnight darkness 
and rode around their neighborhood in different directions to 
give notice to the members of the company. The village of 
Hedgesville, about five miles distant, was the appointed place 
of rendezvous. 

The gloom of that black night was made more gloomy by 
the lurid glare upon the sky of the fires blazing in the dis- 
tance at Harper's Ferry. Who could gaze upon that scene 
without mixed feelings of apprehension and awe ? Appre- 
hension for the fate of our beloved ones, and awe in view of 



122 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

the magnitude of the approachinfr conflict. Even the de- 
termined soldier, with unblanched cheek and unfaltering voice, 
in solemn tones exclaimed, "It is a grave matter; but we 
must and will do our duty, we must do or die !" Nobly was 
that vow fulfilled, and how painfully verified ! Alas ! Virginia 
droops, and mourns her many gallant sons. Rachel weeps for 
her children, and cannot be comforted because they are not! 
After much difficulty Captain Colston succeeded in getting 
his company to Harper's Ferry, where it was enrolled as Co. 
" E," 2d Virginia Regiment of Infantry, under Colonel T. J. 
Jackson. 

Captain C. soon attracted the attention and commendation 
of his commanding officers by his untiring energy and strict 
adherence to duty, as well as by his firmness in reducing the 
disaffected members of his company to obedience. Thence- 
forward he was continually upon the field with scarcely an 
interval of rest. Belonging to the glorious Stonewall Brigade, 
whose steadfastness in battle has given it an historic fame, he 
participated with marked gallantry in all those battles which 
enrolled Jackson among the great captains in the world, 
including Manassas, Kernstown, McDowell, Front Royal, 
Winchester, Cross Keys, Port Republic, seven days' fight 
around Richmond, Cedar Mountain, four days' fighting at 
second Manassas, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine 
Run. 

After the evacuation of Harper's Ferry by our troops, in 
June, 1 86 1, the army of Northern Virginia, which had en- 
camped some weeks at Winchester, under the command of 
General Joseph E. Johnston, left that place on the afternoon 
of Friday, 19th of July, under orders, to cross the Blue Ridge 
Mountains and reach Manassas by a forced march on Satur- 
day night, the 20th. Owing to some accident on the road, a 
part of the first brigade, under General T. J. Jackson, did not 
reach Manassas until early on Sunday morning, the 21st. 
Captain Colston arrived on the field about sunrise on Sunday 
morning with but twelve men. He had been deserted during 
the first night's march by his first and second lieutenants, and 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. 



123 



their example had been followed by a number of the privates 
of the company. Nothing daunted, Captain Colston went 
into battle, leading those twelve brave, true hearts, and 
there gained that reputation for intrepid daring and courage 
which he so well sustained ever afterwards. That little band 
fought with the desperation of veterans; the defection of the 
faint-hearted seemed to infuse increased courage and deter- 
mination into their high resolve to do their duty to their 
country and to support the heroic efforts of their captain. Of 
the twelve, three fell : Third Lieutenant David Manor was 
killed, George Miller and Sergeant Charles Manor cruelly 
wounded; Miller only surviving his wounds a month or two. 
During many weeks of inactivity after the battle of Manassas, 
Captain Colston was very active in recruiting his company, 
and the difficulties in his way were great. The part of the 
Valley from which he came was in the hands of the enemy, 
and but for his perseverance and zeal, and the high estimation 
in which he was held, his little company would have been 
merged into some other. 

On the 8th of November, 1861, the first brigade, now Stone- 
wall, was ordered to report to General T. J. Jackson, who had 
been put in command of the Valley. Officers and men hailed 
with joy the prospect of being again under the leadership of 
their old commander. 

After severe marching for twenty-five days, the army under 
Jackson, having traversed the mountains from Winchester to 
Berkeley Springs, thence to Romney, returned to Winchester 
on the 25th of January, 1862, and went into winter quarters at 
Camp Zollicoffer. During the remainder of the winter and 
early spring Captain Colston spent his time in re-enlisting the 
old members of his company and enlisting new ones. When 
the spring campaign opened, his company was full. 

The first serious fight of the spring campaign in which 
Jackson's army was engaged was at Kernstown. In this en- 
gagement Captain Colston bore himself with conspicuous 
coolness and bravery, never seeming to be aware of the pres- 
ence of dan^rer. After a hard-fou<jht battle against overwhelm- 



124 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



ing odds, our little army retreated in good order. After the 
battle, Captain Colston writes to his mother, " You can better 
imagine than I describe my feelings when I saw my brother 
fall. Without being able to hear the extent of his injury, I 
saw him borne from the field, and only knew that he was 
alive. I had been endeavoring to restrain his impetuosity 
for some time; he was in advance of the company when he 
fell. He was indebted to Lieutenant-Colonel Botts for his 
escape from being made prisoner, who, seeing him borne on 
a plank by two of our men, and knowing the enemy was ad- 
vancing, jumped from his horse and placed Willie on it. As 
soon as I could I overtook him, but, being on foot, it was some 
time before I got up to him. I found him riding slowly, and 
much exhausted from pain and loss of blood. I mounted 
behind him, holding him in as easy a position as possible in 
the saddle, and quickened our pace until I reached a hospital 
at Middletown, where the wound was examined and pro- 
nounced serious and painful, but not mortal. The ball (a 
Minie) was extracted from the hip by Surgeon J. H. Hunter. 
The next morning he was taken off in an ambulance by our 
relative. Dr. J. P. Smith, to Staunton, where you will soon 
join him." 

Captain Colston went safely through all the battles in 
Jackson's brilliant Valley campaign, Port Republic, Cross 
Keys, McDowell, Front Royal, and the exciting occasion of 
Banks's famous retreat. 

Soon after these occurrences, Jackson with his army was 
ordered from the Valley to join Lee around Richmond. On 
that memorable march Captain Colston wrote his mother 
(who, with her daughters, had left her home in Berkeley soon 
after the commencement of hostilities, and was then sojourn- 
ing with her relatives in Albemarle), "Since I parted with 
you two days ago, my dearest mother, you have been con- 
stantly in my thoughts. The soldier's life is one of so much 
excitement and toil he has no time to give way to unhappi- 
ness, but the state of suspense the dear ones we leave behind 
are constantly subjected to is truly torturing; therefore I feel 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. 



125 



that your trials are far harder than mine. But you must cheer 
up and not allow yourself to be so anxious about me. We 
are in fine health and spirits, and trust we shall get down in 
time to turn the tide of battle." 

The importance of Jackson's union with Lee at this junc- 
ture, and the skill and celerity with which it was effected, is 
too well known to be described here. In the battle of Cold 
Harbor the 2d Regiment lost two field-officers. Colonel Allen 
killed and Major Frank Jones mortally wounded. The com- 
mand of the regiment now devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel 
Botts. In the last day's fight Captain Colston was struck 
upon the thigh by a spent shell, which bruised and disabled 
him for several days. 

As soon as McClellan began to withdraw his troops from 
the Peninsula, Jackson with his command was ordered to 
watch Pope, who with his army had left Washington and was 
advancing, via Culpeper Court-House, on his boastful and 
confident march to capture Richmond. The first intimation 
Pope had that there would be any serious check to his pro- 
gress was the appearance of Jackson and his corps at Cedar 
Mountain, in Culpeper County, on the 9th day of August. 
There they met and fought. The result is known to the 
world. On this occasion, the subject of this memoir acted 
with his usual decision and promptitude. An eye-witness 
writes, " During some temporary confusion in our regiment 
consequent upon a change of front under a heavy fire, Cap- 
tain Colston seized the colors, stood firmly, and in his clear, 
ringing tones called upon the regiment to ' dress to the 
colors,' which it quickly did." The whole brigade made a 
furious charge upon the enemy's flank, which routed him 
completely. In this fight General Winder, the gallant com- 
mander of the Stonewall Brigade, was killed. 

After having administered this severe castigation at Cedar 
Mountain, Jackson fell back to Gordonsville, there to await 
the arrival of General Lee, who with Longstreet's corps was 
watching the final departure of McClellan's army from the 
Peninsula. After the concentration of our army at Gordons- 



126 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ville, a general advance was ordered to meet Pope. The two 
armies approached within sight of each other, the Rappa- 
hannock separating them. After several days' manoeuvring, 
Jackson was ordered with his corps to make his celebrated 
flank movement and strike the enemy's depot of supplies at 
Manassas, which he accomplished with his usual skill and 
rapidity, causing the enemy to retreat in haste. 

Jackson was now in an extremely critical position ; reinforce- 
ments came rapidly in to Pope's assistance from Washington, 
and it required desperate fighting and skillful generalship to 
avoid being hemmed in by an advancing enemy on one side 
and the retreating army of Pope on the other. For two days 
he contended with overwhelming odds. In the first day's 
fight the 2d Regiment suffered terribly, losing its only field- 
officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Lawson Botts, killed; the senior 
captain, Nadenbousch, of Company D (the Martinsburg Border 
Guard), severely wounded. 

The command of the regiment now devolved upon Captain 
Colston. He commanded it through the first Maryland cam- 
paign, at the capture of Harper's Ferry, and at the battle of 
Fredericksburg to the entire satisfaction of his superior offi- 
cers, especially General Jackson, his first leader, from whom 
more than once he extorted compliments for his courage and 
skill on the field. 

At the battle of Fredericksburg his feelings were again 
severely tried by seeing his brother William, who had been 
made captain of his old company, again shot down and so 
distressingly lacerated by a large piece of shell that his re- 
covery was supposed to be impossible by the surgeons on the 
field. 

It was not until after the battle of Fredericksburg had been 
fought and the army had gone into winter quarters that there 
was time to attend to promotions. In the winter of i862-'63 
Captain Colston received his hard-earned and well-deserved 
commission of lieutenant-colonel of the 2d Virginia Infantry. 
Captain Nadenbousch, who ranked him, also a gallant and 
efficient officer, was made colonel. On the day after the 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. 12/ 

battle of Chancellorsville, Lieutenant-Colonel Colston, in 
command of the sharpshooters of the division, was charged 
with the delicate and dangerous duty of feeling the position 
of the enemy and ascertaining the amount of force in his 
front. This duty was performed with skill and at great risk, 
as the enemy was behind his works and Colonel Colston was 
compelled to draw his fire. Immediately after this he writes 
to his mother, " I am greatly fatigued from exertion and loss 
of rest. We have had a glorious victory, but what, except 
defeat, can be so sad as such a victory, — our great leader 
severely wounded, our brigadier-general (Paxton) killed, and 
so many of our brave fellows cut down in the prime of 
life." 

Some weeks after this Colonel C. was seized with a violent 
attack of bilious dysentery, which threatened his life, pros- 
trating him in such a way as to make it impossible for him to 
accompany the army in its second advance into Maryland. 
The unfortunate battle of Gettysburg was the only fight or 
skirmish which Jackson's command had fought in which this 
gallant officer had not participated. During the period of 
several months' inactivity after the battle of Gett}'sburg, Col- 
onel Nadenbousch was forced, in consequence of the wound 
he had received at the second battle of Manassas, to retire, — 
thus the full command of the glorious old regiment again 
devolved upon Colonel Colston, 

On the 27th of November, 1863, Johnson's Division,* to 
which the 2d Regiment belonged, became unexpectedly in- 
volved with a heavy force of the enemy. General Johnson, 
who was marching down upon the south bank of the Rapidan 
to take position on General Lee's left, as he lay fronting 
Meade near Mine Run, was first made aware of the presence 
of the enemy by a volley from his skirmishers into our ambu- 
lance train. One regiment from each brigade was ordered to 
deploy as skirmishers and discover the enemy. Colonel 
Colston was ordered to take his regiment from the Stonewall 



* General Edward Johnson's. 



128 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Brigade. The order was quickly obeyed. The enemy's skir- 
mishers were soon driven back upon their main body, which 
was ascertained to be General French's Corps. General 
French on his way to take position upon Meade's right 
missed his road and ran into Johnson's Division, which had, 
all told, only five thousand men. The struggle was a fearful 
one between our skirmishers and the solid ranks of the enemy. 
Colonel Colston, in riding backwards and forwards along the 
line of the regiment amidst a hail-storm of bullets, was a con- 
spicuous mark for the enemy. One of his captains (Hoffman, 
of Co. "D") called his attention to a squad of the enemy which 
was firing deliberately at him, and advised him to dismount. 
" I know it," he replied ; " but duty requires me to be all along 
the line, and it would be impossible to do so on foot." In a 
short time his left leg was shattered. 

The following extracts from a letter of the faithful chaplain 
of the 2d Regiment, the Rev. A. C. Hopkins, of the Presbyte- 
rian Church (now pastor of that church in Charlestown, Jef- 
ferson County), will be read with deep interest : 

" It gives me pleasure to tell you that my constant friend, 
Colonel R. T. Colston, was ever a faithful, gallant soldier, and 
one who endured the hardness of marching and starving, and 
sleeplessness, in the most commendable way. After his pro- 
motion to a field office we were ever much together, and the 
more I saw of him the more I saw in his heart to admire and 
in his life to praise. Of course you know that during his 
active service he was not a professor of religion, yet I am 
pleased to assure his friends that I never in the discharge of 
my official duties failed to receive all the support and sympa- 
thy which were in his power to render. I remember that on 
the arduous campaign familiarly known as ' flanking Meade,' 
we had numerous and earnest conversations on the subject of 
religion. 

******** 

" During that fall his mind turned more and more to the all- 
important subject. So marked was this, that although he had 
not made any professions of piety, yet when I heard, in con- 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. 1 29 

nection with his death, that he had left his family the precious 
legacy of a hope that he had embraced the Saviour in his last 
illness, I remarked to my tent-fellow that I was not surprised. 
It will be an unspeakable comfort and encouragement to his 
mother to be assured, as she may be, that he never threw off 
the memory of the pious lessons received in early years at the 
lips of a godly father and devoted mother, and that he often 
spoke to me of them, even before the period above named, 
with evident signs of deep emotion and gratitude. One occa- 
sion I remember, not long before he reached his end, when 
his eyes filled with tears and he expressed the resolution to 
profit by them. 

" On the morning of the 27th of November, 1863, we started 
from Orange County, below what was known as Morton's 
Ford, on Mine Run Road, Rodes's Division in front and 
Johnson's following. When we had proceeded some miles, 
and the sun was up an hour or two, the brigade was just halt- 
ing for an ordinary rest. The 2d Regiment was at the rear of 
the Stonewall Brigade, behind it the ambulances and artillery. 
First a scattering, then a sharp fire was opened upon the am- 
bulances from the dense forest on the left. Very soon the fire 
was ascertained to come from the enemy. Brigadier- General 
Walker at once deployed the 2d Regiment as skirmishers, so 
as to cover his whole brigade and half the train next him, 
while General Stuart did similarly in his brigade behind the 
trains. Colonel Colston was ordered presently to advance a 
considerable distance into the wood, which was done. We 
came to the edge of a field, and far off in the right caught 
sight of the Federal cavalry or mounted officers. At these 
several shots were fired, which drove them off. General 
Walker then directed Colonel Colston to take about one 
dozen men on the left of the regiment, deploy them to the 
left, at right angles to the present line, pierce a swamp, and 
see if the enemy was in that direction. I being the only 
mounted person, was requested by Colonel C. to accompany 
him. With a dozen men under Captain Hoffman, I think of 
Co. ' D,' we pierced the swamp, and were just reaching the 

9 



I30 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\ 
brow of a hill densely covered in forest when we met the 
enemy's skirmishers, who were secreted behind trees. A 
number of shots were exchanged, and I was ordered to bring 
up reinforcements ; they were brought, and I was directed to 
bring more. Being conspicuous on horseback. Colonel C. 
was, of course, a mark, and a number of times we spoke 
together on this very point, and were conscious of shots made 
deliberately at us. None of them struck either of us, however, 
till just as I was returning the third time with reinforcements. 
I had gotten well up to him and in the act of reporting what 
I had done, when we heard a distinct fire. He threw up his 
hands, his large sabre fell, his reins dropped on the neck of 
his mare, and she, as if conscious, stopped and stood still. 
He was riding along the line, his left side to the enemy, and 
I was meeting him. He exclaimed, ' Oh, my God, I am 
shot !' and his countenance blanched in a way which showed 
intense pain. I feared he was killed, dismounted instantly, 
handed him my canteen, from which he drank, learned the 
nature of his wound, braced him up on his horse and led him 
back. But so pale was he, that just as soon as others could be 
had I took him ofif^ discovered that the ball had gone directly 
into the left leg and broke the powerful bone for which he was 
almost distinguished. We had him taken to the rear ; but he 
would not allow me to attend him from the field, as he wished 
me to give certain orders to his successor, and to aid him in 
the discharge of duties at that moment critical and embar- 
rass mg. 

"The fighting of the day over, I sought the hospital, and 
found it about ten or eleven o'clock p.m. There he lay with 
limb amputated just below the knee, the flap then open, look- 
ing remarkably smooth and healthy, and his spirits as bright 
as possible. He saluted me as soon as his eye rested upon 
me with his well known ' Halloo, Mr, Hopkins!' almost as loud 
as if he had been giving command, and called me to him to 
inquire first of all, * How did the regiment do to-day ?' In his 
affliction his heart turned first to the cherished honor of his 
command. When assured that it did well, he was greatly re- 



RALEIGH T. COLSTON. 



131 



lieved and cheered. His limb was sewed up during the night, 
when he suffered much; after that was done he slept, and 
about daybreak I started with him and a train of ambulances 
to Orange Court-House, where we were to meet a train of 
cars. From an early hour that morning a cold November 
rain began to fall, and continued all day. About night we 
reached the Court-House, but owing to delays of the trains, 
the wounded could not get off from that point until much after 
midnight. He complained much of cold. He was put into 
one of the most comfortable of the cold, damp box-cars and 
taken off. From that time I saw my cherished friend no 
more." 

On arriving at Gordonsville, Orange County, a telegram 
was dispatched to the family and friends of Colonel Colston, 
at the University of Virginia. He was attended by a faithful 
nurse detailed for the purpose, Private James Fiery, of Honey- 
wood Mills, Berkeley County, Virginia, one of the little com- 
pany of twelve led by Captain Colston in the first battle of 
Manassas. An unlettered man, but one imbued with the 
loftiest attributes of our nature. Upright, gentle, brave, he 
went through every battle which the 2d Regiment fought 
with patriotic and unflinching courage, from first Manassas to 
the battle of the Wilderness, in 1864, where he received his 
mortal wound. It is meet that this poor tribute be paid by a 
grateful friend to the memory of this humble, but noble patriot 
and soldier. 

On the receipt of the telegram, a near connexion. Professor 
John B. Minor, hastened to Gordonsville and had Colonel 
Colston conveyed to his own house at the University, where 
he was received by his sisters and other affectionate relatives 
and friends, and soon joined by his mother. Here, surrounded 
by all the comforts which refinement and affectionate thought- 
fulness could suggest, he seemed for a time to be doing well. 
His wound was perfectly healthy, yet there was a want of 
appetite, a slight lingering fever, which made his watchful 
physician anxious, and for which he could not account. But 
his calm serenity of manner and occasional cheerfulness dis- 



132 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

armed others of all apprehension. It was, indeed, sad to look 
upon that manly and finely-proportioned form now mutilated 
and prostrate, but sadness was soon dispelled by the hope of 
his early restoration to health. The wound was rapidly and 
safely healing, when symptoms of pneumonia set in, which 
baffled the best medical skill, growing more violent each suc- 
cet'dng day. 

The native tenderness of his disposition never shone more 
brightly than in those days of suffering and agony. His pa- 
tience under suffering was remarked by all. His care for the 
safety of his two brothers, both in active service, his anxiety 
for the success of our cause, which he would never permit him- 
self to doubt, all showed his unselfishness. He was frequently 
engaged in prayer, and when spoken to on the subject of death, 
said, " It is natural a young man of my age and hopes and 
anticipations should wish to live, but I am not afraid to die." 
Turning to his aunt, Mrs. J. P. McGuire, who had been ten- 
derly watching by his suffering bed, said, " Tell my uncle that 
I was a changed man before I came to lie here, and if God 
spares my life, I trust my friends will see it in my conduct." 
To his cousin, Mrs. C, who had been his faithful nurse, he 
would say, "Cousin G., sing to me; sing hymns to soothe 
me." 

"Thus may it be said that he crowned a youth of unselfish 
affection for brothers and sisters, and of filial love to his wid- 
owed mother, and a manhood of exemplary devotion to his 
country, with a steadfast faith and trust in his Saviour, which 
divested death of its sting and snatched from the grave its 
victory." 

He retained his consciousness until within a few hours of the 
end, when, under the effect of an anodyne, his mind wandered. 

On the morning of the 23d of December, 1863, surrounded 
by affectionate relatives and friends, by a devoted mother and 
sisters and brother, and by one loving and most tenderly 
beloved, this vigorous and promising young soldier closed 
his earthly career. 

The followintr extract from a letter of Lieutenant Holmes 



LEWELLYN CRITTENDEN. 1 33 

Boyd, of the Ordnance Department, to a friend in Albemarle, 
was written shortly after Colonel Colston's death : 

" I am truly sorry to hear of Colonel Colston's death. 
What a blow to his mother! He was in truth a noble man, 
kind, generous, brave, chivalrous. His affection for his mother 
and sisters, and the self-sacrificing spirit he always evinced 
when their comfort or interest was concerned, was indeed 
beautiful. Colonel Colston was cut off whilst leading a use- 
ful career, a career honorable to himself, his family, and his 
country. As an officer he stood high ; second to none of his 
rank, superior to the large majority." 

On Christmas morning, 1863, the funeral services were per- 
formed in the chapel of the University, according to the rites 
of the Protestant Episcopal Church. His remains were buried 
with military honors in the cemetery of the University of 
Virginia. 



LEWELLYN CRITTENDEN, 

OF LANCASTER COUNTY, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT, CO. " E," 40TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

Lewellyn Crittenden was born at Kilmarnock, Lancaster 
County, Virginia, on the 24th of August, 1841. His father 
was a young and rising lawyer when he was removed by 
death from the guardianship of his two boys, Lewellyn and 
Addison, who but a short time previous had to mourn the 
loss of a mother. Thus early made orphans, these boys were 
adopted by their grandmother, Mrs. C. B. Crittenden, who 
faithfully and religiously devoted herself to the charge of 
rearing them. 

She was a most judicious trainer of children, securing at 
the same time perfect obedience and perfect freedom of 
approach. 

They were eaj-ly sent to school, and enjoyed the benefits of 
the instruction of some of the best teachers of their vicinity. 



134 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL, 



% 



Lewfxlyn, the subject of this sketch, soon displayed talents 
of no ordinary character, and was generally at the head of his 
classes. Fond of athletic sports, he did not become a book- 
worm, though he was always an excellent student; he seemed 
ever ambitious to be excellent, whether on the play-ground or 
in the class-room. In August, 1859, when about eighteen 
years of age, he applied for and received the appointment of 
State cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, where he at once 
took a high stand for scholarship. It is believed that he was 
much beloved by his classmates, as is evidenced by the numer- 
ous letters found among his papers. The secession of South 
Carolina awoke in him those sentiments of patriotism that he 
afterwards so well illustrated in his brief career as a Confed- 
erate soldier. He grew impatient as Virginia lingered in the 
Union, and only awaited the decision of her Convention, 
Had she refused to secede, he determined to " abandon her 
forever" and cast in his lot with the seceded States, 

It was with joy, however, that he heard the welcome news 
that the "Old Dominion" had cast loose from the Union, and 
promptly and cheerfully did he proceed to the duties assigned 
to the corps as drill-officers in Richmond. 

When his services there could be dispensed with, he at 
once returned to his home in Richmond County; and though 
he had various offers of commissions in many of the com- 
panies he had instructed, he enlisted a^ a private in the 
Totuskey Grays, afterwards known as Co. " B," 40th Virginia 
Infantry. 

He served for six months or more in this company, doing 
service on the Potomac, when, in obedience to a call made by 
the superintendent of the Institute, and by persuasion of his 
friends, he returned to that institution, and after graduating 
(December 6, 1861) was soon made assistant professor. 

But his spirit chafed at the thought that he was not in the 
field sharing the hardships and dangers of his companions, 
and he tendered his resignation. 

Upon its acceptance, he sought his old position in the 
ranks of Co. " B" ; but the regiment had already learned 



LEWELLYN CRITTENDEN. 



135 



something of his worth, and he was elected lieutenant in 
Co. " E." The regiment was soon ordered to the Chicka- 
hominy, where it was destined to receive its baptism of fire. 

In Field's Brigade of A. P. Hill's Light Division it was 
among the first to cross the Meadow bridges, and to com- 
mence, at Mechanicsville, the series of battles around Rich- 
mond. 

Lieutenant Crittenden fought heroically until, on Monday 
evening, June 30, 1862, while acting as adjutant of the regi- 
ment, gallantly cheering on the men, he fell mortally wounded, 
a Minie-ball having passed entirely through his bowels. The 
following extract from a communication to his grandmother, 
written soon after his death by Mr. Buckner, who was with 
him in his last moments, and who closed his eyes, will give a 
just idea of his character as brought out in death. 

Mr. Buckner says, " Lieutenant Crittenden was wounded 
in the Monday evening's fight at Frasier's Farm. When I first 
saw him he had been brought to the rear. I asked how he 
was. He answered, in a quiet, calm way, 'I am dying!' I 
asked if I could do anything for him ; he said he felt cold. I 
wrapped him up in my blanket and fixed him as comfortably 
as I could. He told me he knew he was mortally wounded ; 
that it was hard to die so young; that he had no mother or 
father, no one to grieve for him but a brother and his old 
grandmother, whose heart, he feared, the news of his death 
would break. He seemed very anxious to be carried to Rich- 
mond to see his brother. I tried to get an ambulance, but 
could not succeed. I then got a wagon, and was about to 
start with him, when Major Deshields came along and advised 
against it, as he thought he could not stand the jolting ; the 
doctor also agreed with him. I then carried him to a field- 
hospital, where the surgeons were very kind and attentive, 
and remained with him till he died, about day, Wednesday 
morning. During all the time he was perfectly rational, and 
talked as calmly as though nothing was the matter with him ; 
said \iQ gtoried in his death; that he knew he died in the right 
cause ; that he would not have it otherwise. 



136 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

"My brother had a conversation with him on the subject of 
religion, and prayed with him. He said he was not afraid 
to die, and felt that he would not be lost. He asked me to 
see his brother, and gave me some directions, which I attended 
to after his death. I wrapped him in his blanket, buried him 
as decently as I could, and inclosed his grave, putting his 
name at the head. 

" I had been in his company, and admired him, but had not 
conceived of his real heroism and nobility of character. He 
spoke of his grandmother often, and his thought to the last 
seemed to be more of his friends than of himself" 

Thus, in plain and simple language, is eloquently told the 
story of a hero's death by the stranger comrade, the tender 
nurse of the dying soldier. Mr. Buckner remarked to the 
writer that Lieutenant Crittenden frequently exclaimed, as 
if in rapture, " Oil, it is glojious to die for my comitty f' 

His dust lies yet on the battle-field where his comrades 
buried him. And there let him rest. No nobler spirit ever 
winged its flight from the field. 

His superior intellect gave promise to his friends of a bril- 
liant career for him ; and doubtless, had he survived, he would 
have risen to eminence. But the martyred hero of a lost 
cause rests; the brother he loved so well in one short year 
sealed his devotion to his country on the heights of Gettys- 
burg, sending, by a comrade, a message of love to the beloved 
grandmother, expressing a perfect willingness and readiness 
to go, obedient to the summons of the God he had faithfully 
served. 

And soon after the cause was lost the grandmother "crossed 
the river," and doubtless met her "boys" in the " better land." 

And there they rest, forever rest. " Green be the turf above 
them !" 



CHARLES GA\ CROCKETT. 1 37 

CHARLES GAY CROCKETT, 

OF WYTHEVILLE, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " B," CORPS OF CADETS. 

He whose name gives title to this little sketch had the 
fortune to be numbered among the military children of Vir- 
ginia only for a brief while, the entire period of his connection 
with the Institute as a cadet lasting no more than three and 
a half months. 

He was the fifth son and sixth child of Gustavus A. Crockett 
and Elizabeth E. Erskine, and was born on the 3d of Decem- 
ber, 1846, at the elegant family residence of " Glenbrook," 
hard by the mountain village of Wytheville, Virginia. Amid 
the many comforts of this home, and subject all the while to 
the elevating influences of its fine natural surroundings, he 
spent the whole of his short lifetime up to the hour of his 
departure for Lexington. Here with his family and friends, 
with the watchful parental eye upon him, and under the 
private instruction of a Trinity scholar and worthy gentle- 
man well qualified to develop and educe whatever moral and 
intellectual worth was in him, was his preparatory education 
conducted. He greatly loved this pleasant home and its pur- 
suits, and his school-days here were made the most of by 
habits of study faithfully acquired, by improving associations, 
and, as the years grew, by a steady growth, in which, under 
judicious training, heart and intellect kept nearly equal pace. 
This home-schooling under his excellent private tutor consti- 
tuted his sole preparation for college, for he never attended 
any other school. Yet, when, on the ist of February, 1864, 
and a little after his seventeenth birthday, it was determined 
that he should enter the Institute as a cadet, he was found to 
be unusually well prepared for matriculation. 

His life under the paternal roof was of an even tenor, not 
marred by any conspicuous originalities either of character or 
conduct; but nevertheless he had a way of his own which 



138 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

served to distinguish him honorably among his associates. 
That was the way of a good boy. Were a friend, to whom 
she could talk unreservedly about her son, to ask his mother 
what were his most prominent traits, she would fondly answer, 
his ready decision of purpose and his strong adherence to 
what he believed to be right. So observable, indeed, was this 
last-named quality, that it was sometimes mistaken for down- 
right stubbornness by young persons with whom he now and 
then happened to differ about the right and wrong of an act 
or a principle. On one occasion, his father spoke of it to an 
old acquaintance, who was a guest in the house, seeming to 
deplore it as likely, erewhile, to grow into a repulsive and 
selfish hard-heartedness. But the old lady, who was a mother 
and had a mother's keener insight into child-nature, gently 
intimated that he had perhaps misconceived the lad's charac- 
ter in this respect, and ventured to assure him that what he 
feared might become obstinacy was a far better thing, namely, 
that firmness of resolve, which in after-years, and when cor- 
rected by superior knowledge and intercourse with men, 
would render his child the successful man. Alas ! Charles 
did not live long enough to verify completely his kind old 
advocate's prediction. Yet, looking over the fair page that 
memory hath writ concerning him, how pleasing it is to note 
that, according to his allotted measure, he did fulfill the good 
promise of his childhood to which she pointed ! His father's 
fear was never realized. So far from it, his decision of char- 
acter, instead of degenerating into willfulness, was more and 
more softened and beautified, though not weakened, as time 
went on, by an almost womanly gentleness that won the 
hearts of all who came into contact with him. In the house- 
hold circle, and among brothers and sisters, where so many 
young men, polite enough elsewhere, are wont to feel them- 
selves licensed to throw off their kind and considerate be- 
havior, he was never heard to utter a harsh, or hurtful, or 
impatient word, and his filial obedience and devotion, espe- 
cially to his mother, were all that the most exacting, jealous 
parent could demand. 



CHARLES GAY CROCKETT. 



139 



Now, of course, it is not to be supposed that a healthy and 
vigorous youth, quick and high-spirited as Charles Crockett 
was, could be brought up to so pure and innocent a life with- 
out the benign influences of religious culture and discipline. 
In fact, from his infancy Charles had the benefit of Christian 
precept and example, both in his mother and his private tutor. 
Almost all boys, when verging upon the first stately steppings 
of manhood, have their attacks of infidelity, real or imaginary, 
— deeming it to be a very manly thing to discredit, or pretend 
to discredit, the sweet, simple lessons of faith learned at the 
mother's knee. The mother's knee, it is to be feared, is fast 
going out of fashion nowadays; but it never ceased to be an 
attractive place to Charles Crockett. If he ever had a spasm 
of boyish skepticism, no one ever heard of it; nor was it al- 
lowed for a single day to interrupt his reverent devotional 
habits. For some time before he started to Lexington he had 
been engaged in reading the Holy Scriptures with his mother, 
and when they were about to part and had finished their last 
lesson together, she requested him to continue to read regu- 
larly on from the passage where they had left off, while she, 
too, would do the same. He cheerfully promised, and ever 
afterwards, when he would write to her from the Institute, he 
would not fail in any letter to cite the last chapter that he read: 
thus showing how lively was his interest in their conjoined 
employment, and keeping up between himself and his distant 
home a sacred bond that is exceeding precious to be remem- 
bered. No doubt many a young man, whose eye may chance 
to alight on this memorial, will think it very old-fashioned for 
a boy of seventeen to be so filial and pure-souled and pious ; 
but let him be assured that one may be all that Charles 
Crockett was in these respects and still be a high-mettled, 
ingenuous, and brave boy, as well as an agreeable companion 
among his peers. Yes, for there was no unnatural affectation 
of superior virtue about the piety we have described, no dis- 
gusting priggishness and self-conceit; it was simply the re- 
ligion that is both right and becoming to a frank, impulsive, 
open-hearted youth. 



I40 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

But little more tarries to be told. The manner of life that 
we have related here still went evenly on when Charles be- 
came a cadet. Among the hundreds of young men who 
were then assembled at our Military Institute, striving eagerly 
to learn the art of defending better their beleaguered country 
and homes, he was remarkable, as those who knew him best 
bear witness, for his punctual attendance on his studies and 
recitations, and his exact obedience to the rules and regula- 
tions of the school. Unquestioning respect for his superiors, 
diligence at his books, kindness to his comrades, — these, all 
agree, marked his career as a cadet. His room-mates tell us 
that they admired and liked him, not so much as a mis- 
chievous play-fellow, ready always for a frolic or a practical 
joke, but for higher and more enduring excellence, — for his 
integrity, his modesty, his sterling worth. And in the practice 
of these virtues were his days passed until his death, which 
occurred, in the willing service of his country and while 
doing his duty, on the 15th of May, 1864, at the battle of New 
Market. He fell in the charge made by the corps of cadets 
on a battery of the enemy's guns, being struck in the head by 
a flying shell and instantly killed. His last remembered deed 
ere the dawn of the fatal day was one of thoughtful kindness 
to those about him, — making a large fire on the night before 
the battle for the comfort of his mess, all of whom, except him- 
self, being tired by the previous day's hard marching, were 
stretched upon the ground fast asleep. Through friendly care 
his body was returned to his home to be buried; and now, 
when the sun, still glowing after it has gone down behind the 
neighboring mountains, sheds after it richest hues of purple 
and crimson and violet and gold, these seem to fall with pecu- 
liar brightness on that mound in one of Wytheville's quiet 
spots, underneath which repose the earthly remains of our 
good and brave boy, Charles Gay Crockett, 



CHARLES A. CRUMP. \^l 

CHARLES A. CRUMP, 

OF POWHATAN COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, i6tH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Charles A. Crump, son of Richard and Elizabeth R. Crump, 
was born in Powhatan County, Virginia, August i6, 1822. He 
was the youngest of five children. His eldest brother, Captain 
William G. Crump, commanded a company of Texas Rangers 
in the Mexican war. Another brother, James H. Crump, 
served as a quartermaster during the late war; and a third 
brother, Colonel Philip Crump, commanded an independent 
regiment from the vicinity of Jefferson, Texas, which did effi- 
cient service with the armies of McCulloch and Sterling Price. 
The latter, a brave and fearless soldier, escaped the vicissitudes 
and dangers of the war to die from the hardships of an unjust 
imprisonment to which he was subjected, upon an utterly 
groundless charge, by the Federal authorities, after the war. 

As a child and youth, Charles Crump was of amiable and 
affectionate disposition ; reared by a widowed mother, he was 
always a source of comfort to her. 

When about seventeen years of age, through the influence 
of his friend and relative. Colonel Henry L. Hopkins, of Pow- 
hatan, he was appointed a cadet in the new State Military 
Institute then about to be organized at Lexington. On the 
nth of November, 1839, the natal day of that institution, with 
twenty-seven companions, he matriculated. Of this little band 
more than one-half served our country during the war, and 
five laid clown their lives for her. 

Cadet Crump resigned before graduation, and, settling in 
Nottoway County, took charge of a male school located at 
the present site of Burkeville Junction. He continued prin- 
cipal of this school until 1845, when he went into mercantile 
business with Mr. G. A. Miller, spending a portion of his time 
as salesman with Brook, Bell & Co., and later with Wads- 
worth, Turner & Co., wholesale dry-goods merchants in Rich- 



142 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

mond. In 1845 he was elected colonel of the Nottoway militia, 
and was appointed brigade-inspector of his district. 

In 1859 he was elected to the Legislature from the counties 
of Amelia and Nottoway. While a member of the Legisla- 
ture, the State Convention, sitting at Richmond, passed the 
ordinance of secession. Colonel Crump, though opposed to 
secession, was among the first (after tiie passage of the ordi- 
nance) to offer his services to the Governor of the State. He 
was sent, with Hon. John Seddon and others, to take pos- 
session of the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry. On 
his return to Richmond, was ordered, with Colonel Colston, 
to Norfolk on a similar expedition, and took possession of the 
United States Arsenal and Armory at this place. In May, 
1 86 1, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of volunteers, and was 
assigned to the i6th Virginia Infantry (Colonel Colston), and 
in July was commissioned full colonel, and ordered to Glouces- 
ter Point to the command of the 26th Virginia Regiment and 
other forces stationed at this point. He remained in command 
of this place until the reorganization of the army, when he 
was not re-elected, Colonel P. R. Page being chosen colonel 
of the regiment. He retained the command of the post, 
however, by special order of General Joseph E. Johnston, 
until after the evacuation of the Peninsula by the Confederate 
forces, when he conducted the retreat of his command — about 
two thousand five hundred troops and one hundred and twenty- 
five wagons — along the north bank of York River to the lines 
around Richmond. 

Just at this time he was attacked with a severe fever, which 
compelled him to retire from his command, and was carried to 
his home in Nottoway. During his illness, his old regiment, 
the 1 6th Virginia, learning that he was without an office, 
unanimously elected him colonel of the regiment. As soon 
as he was able to leave his bed he hastened to this regiment, 
then stationed at Manassas. He reached his command on the 
28th of August, 1862. Just before night, when victory was 
crowning our arms, after the battle of Sunday, the 30th, Col- 
onel Crump was ordered to charge a battery of the enemy. 



STAPLETON CRUTCHFIELD. 



143 



Dismounting from his horse, he was addressing a few words 
of encouragement to his men, when he received a severe 
wound in his arm, which would have justified him in leaving 
the field; but instead, as a lion enraged by the sight of blood, 
he waved his sword aloft with his bloody hand and arm, and 
shouted, " Come on, boys, I am with you till the last !" With 
the words on his lips, another ball struck him, piercing his 
neck, and he never spoke again. His remains were interred 
at Hay Market, in Prince William County, 

Colonel Crump was of splendid personal appearance, and 
his innate qualities matched the goodly form which nature in 
her prodigality had bestowed upon him. He was a most de- 
voted son, a fond brother, an affectionate husband, a kind 
father, a true, faithful friend, a high-toned, unflinching, hon- 
orable, brave man and soldier. He left a wife and one little 
daughter, who soon followed her father to the grave, and an 
aged mother, who lived to see three of her sons die for their 
country, and who, having reached the "labor and sorrow" of 
fourscore years, has just gone to her rest. 



STAPLETON CRUTCHFIELD, 

OF SPOTTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, AND CHIEF OF AR- 
TILLFRY, 2D CORPS, A. N. V. 

The subject of this brief memoir was a distinguished grad- 
uate of the Virginia Military Institute. In common with many 
alumni of that State-fostered institution, he sealed with his 
life's blood the great principle of primary allegiance to his 
native State. 

This highly-endowed and accomplished young Virginian, 
like numberless faithful sons of the " Old Dominion" who fell 
martyrs in her defense when iniquitously assailed, was of 
gentle blood aud ancestral virtue. He also possessed per- 



144 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

sonal qualities, intellectual and moral, of highest value, and 
had achieved, before the war, when scarce beyond the 
threshold of manhood, a position of extraordinary influence. 
The post of Adjunct Professor of Mathematics in the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, with the entire duties of the chair 
mainly on his shoulders, had been, in 1858, three years after 
his graduation, by a disinterested board of visitors, assigned 
him, — on the strong recommendation of the superintendent 
and faculty, and with the sanction of the Governor of the 
State. 

A year or two thereafter, the ever-encroaching spirit of 
Northern assumption, expressed in taxation pernicious to the 
Southern States, and in the hostile fury of abolitionism, as- 
sumed its war-aspect, under the political battle-cry invented 
by Mr. Seward, of " irrepressible conflict" between the insti- 
tutions of the two sections, and adopted by Mr. Lincoln as the 
motto on his banner when elected President by the Northern 
multitude. The cotton States justly jealous, in view of me- 
nace so serious, fell back upon their original rights, never in- 
tended to be relinquished, but rather to be inviolably secured 
by the provisions of the Federal Constitutional compact, and 
formally withdrew from that compact on the ground that it 
had been violated on the other side, and was now used as a 
mere pretext for their ruin. Virginia, true to her history 
and relations, as sharing the interests and institutions of the 
South, yet also strongly attached to the compact of union, of 
which she was virtually the author, endeavored to interpose a 
wise mcdiatorship between the confidently threatening North- 
ern mass and their government on the one side, and the de- 
fensively defiant Southern States on the other. Unhappily, 
the stronger section, misled by presumption into disregard of 
justice, and its government in Washington, inflated by power, 
would listen to no appeal for delay in behalf of conciliatory 
counsels. Utter submission by the weaker section to the 
entire demands of its mightier neighbor, or a vast outpouring 
of blood, was the single issue. On this, no people at all en- 
titled to be regarded as Christian and free could hesitate, in 



STAPLETON CRUTCHFIELD. I45 

reliance upon the Supreme arbiter of right, to accept the latter 
alternative. 

Mr. Lincoln's war-proclamation was accordingly issued. 
And Virginia, forced by it to decide between assailant and 
assailed, virtuously sided with the latter. 

As became his lineage, his training, his intelligent patriot- 
ism, and his entire principles as a man and a Christian, young 
Crutchfield sprang, at such a crisis, as did every true Vir- 
ginian, to the defense of his own, his native land. Nor did his 
honorable and efficient career as a patriot soldier end until 
a deadly shot terminated his life at the fatal pass of Sailor's 
Creek, between Petersburg and Appomattox, about four 
days before the death of " the lost cause," at the last-named 
locality. While we mourn the violent, early removal of one 
so young and well adapted to usefulness, we have, however, 
to rejoice that he went with "a good hope through grace," 
and that he was " taken from the evil to come." Incalculably 
less sad such a departure than the living death experienced 
in Virginia, and more dreadfully in States farther South, by 
thousands, who have survived to witness and bear the unre- 
laxing malice of the conquering section and its multitudes, and 
the relentless vengeance of their now all-powerful government. 

To a brief memoir of this exemplary young Virginian, dis- 
tinguished, graduate and officer of the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, faithful soldier, and Christian martyr patriot, a few pages 
will now be devoted, giving some interesting details respect- 
ing his boyhood, student-life, religious character, scientific 
attainments, and military history. 

For the account of his descent and childhood we are in- 
debted to his only sister, the justly-honored daughter-in-law 
of that full compeer of the world's grandest human benefac- 
tors, the late noble Commodore Maury. This graceful tribute 
from a heart so true we give in its own touching language. 

Stapleton Crutchfield was born June 21, 1835, at "Spring 
Forest," in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, — the home of his 
paternal grandmother, then a widow with a large family, all 
under the care of her oldest child, Stapleton's father. His 

10 



146 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

people were Minors. His grandmother (paternal) was Eliza- 
beth Lewis Minor, of "Sunning Hill," Louisa County, who 
married Staplcton Crutchfield, a man largely loved and 
trusted in his own county of Spottsylvania, which he repre- 
sented in the Virginia Legislature for a series of years. His 
maternal grandmother was Barbara Minor, of " Topping 
Castle," in Caroline County, who married William Kemp 
Gatewood, of Essex County, and lived at a beautiful home, 
" Ben Lomond," on the Rappahannock River. Here her eldest 
daughter, Susan Elizabeth Gatewood, was married, in 1833, 
to her up-country cousin, Oscar Minor Crutchfield, and left 
her river-side home with him for the plain country life of 
"Spring Forest." Her husband was their all in all to his 
widowed mother and fatherless brothers and sisters. He was 
also universally beloved throughout the county, and was 
returned to the Legislature by unanimous election for well- 
nigh thirty years. During all the later years of that extended 
term, moreover, he presided as Speaker over the deliberations 
of that body, with a felicity of administrative vigor rarely 
surpassed. 

In the boy Stapleton's infancy, when on a visit to "Ben 
Lomond," he was baptized by Rev. John P. McGuire, his grand- 
mother's and mother's pastor, that pastor himself becoming 
also a godfather to the dear child. It is delightful to believe 
that the "effectual, fervent prayers" of this "righteous man" 
were, long years after, with other agencies, of much "avail" 
in bringing the young man to a recognition of vows made in 
his Baptism, and thus becoming by choice "Christ's faithful 
soldier and servant unto his life's end," 

He never knew when he could first read, so early was it in 
his childhood; and so fond was he of reading that not seldom 
was the derisive term " book-worm" applied to him. 

When Stapleton was eight or nine years old, an uncle of 
his father's died and left to that father, his favorite nephew 
Oscar, a comfortable home three miles from "Spring Forest." 
This bachelor uncle's residence was "the great house" of the 
district, being of fine red brick, with a slate roof, then regarded 



STA PLE TON CR UTCHFIELD. 



147 



much as is now a " Mansard." To Stapleton and his, by 
this time, several brothers and one sister, this " Green Branch" 
was a paradise, with its mill and pond and meadows and or- 
chards. There was a large carpenter's shop, too, where very 
creditable work was carried on for farm purposes, by one of 
the servants who had been trained to the business, and in this 
shop the lad Stapleton spent most of his time not given to 
books. He was always experimenting in mechanics, and suc- 
ceeded in making an ingenious little combination of machinery 
to be worked by the stream at the foot of the hill, which to 
his admiring small companions, white and black, was very 
wonderful. "Even now," says his sister, "can I hear the 
music of its shrill little ' click, clack.' " He then essayed a 
larger work, and with his own hands, by dint of patient indus- 
try, built a boat to be rowed up and down the mill-pond, a 
distance of a mile. To reward his labors, his delicate mother, 
fondly affectionate, sufficiently yielded her fears to allow her- 
self to be cajoled into the ambitious young artisan's craft, and 
be paddled to the head of the pond among the water-lilies, 
and down again to the mill-dam. 

With all his out-door life, his carpentering, his hunting, fish- 
ing, and rabbit-catching, which made existence to him then 
one long holiday, he failed not to find time for reading, and 
often spent a long summer's day, on the grass under the trees, 
devouring some book. During actual holidays, when school- 
days had come, this mixed life of sport, work, and reading 
always returned with its endless resources and enjoyment. 

At about twelve, the self-cultivating boy was sent to a 
school some distance off, admirably conducted by an ener- 
getic kinswoman of the family, Miss £. H. Hill, who con- 
trived judiciously to manage together a few girls and a number 
of boys. Stapleton was her acknowledged favorite, because 
of his uniformly correct deportment and studious habits. His 
mother, like most of her class in our dear Virginia, in spite of 
delicate health, a large household, and all the cares incident 
to farm-life, and notwithstanding, too, her son's manifold self- 
found avocations, had contrived so well herself to teach him, 



148 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

that wherever he went to school he proved most thorough in 
all he had learned. 

Having stayed nearly two years at the "Mount Airy" 
school under Miss Hill, he was transferred to one of higher 
grade, under the care of his good godfather. Rev. John P. 
McGuire, at Loretto, Essex County, Virginia. Here he took 
and maintained a high stand, and was thence transferred to 
the Virginia Military Institute, in August, 1851, being then 
just sixteen years old. 

For some reason the isolated world of youths under rigid 
military forms, into the midst of which the boy of previous 
domestic training was now thrown, proved to him, at first, 
uncongenial and disadvantageous. At any rate, former pro- 
priety of conduct and habits of application gave way to in- 
difference alike to lessons and to regulations. Under the 
strict discipline of the Military Institute, this state of things 
could not be long tolerated. Young Crutchfield was, there- 
fore, after some months, sent home, as an unpromising subject 
for the educational system of a military school. The next 
year, however, not to distress his mother, he again sought 
admission into the Institute, was received into the lowest of 
its three classes, and entered upon that course of assiduous 
attention to duty, however distasteful, which, with his supe- 
rior abilities and cultivation from childhood, could not but 
eventuate in his reaching and holding the first place in his 
class. 

His mother and himself were all this while, until her 
removal from earthly trials, the dearest friends, and corre- 
sponded with such regularity and affection as deeply to 
impress the younger children. So full were his letters of life 
and love, and so neatly and fairly were they written, that by 
his mother they were greatly prized. 

"When our dear mother was dying, in 1853," writes l^'s 
sister, " and he was summoned home to see her, well do I 
remember his great grief. He begged she would give him a 
plain gold ring, with 'My Mother' engraven inside ; and, as 
she put it on his finger, he voluntarily promised her never 



STAPLETON CRUTCHFIELD. 



149 



to touch the wine-cup, nor approach a gaming-table, snares 
destructive to so many men of bright prospects. This promise, 
it is believed, he kept with pious strictness to his dying day. 
Most touching was it to witness his sad sorrow the first summer 
he spent at home after our mother's death." 

Having achieved two of the Institute classes with highest 
distinction, and being at the head of that to graduate within a 
year, our young friend, at about nineteen, received the com- 
pliment, due to his abilities, attainments, and worth, of being 
appointed acting Assistant Professor of Mathematics. In the 
summer of 1855, when just twenty years of age, he graduated 
at the Virginia Military Institute with the highest honors of 
his class, and was at once appointed Assistant Professor of 
Mathematics. 

During the three years from the summer of 1855 to that of 
1858 the young assistant professor performed most satisfac- 
torily, and with increasing ability, the duties of his position, 
and at the end of that term, before the opening of the fall ses- 
sion of 1858, had conferred upon him the distinction, eminent, 
indeed, for a young man of only twenty-three, of being ap- 
pointed full Professor (adjunct) of Mathematics in the Virginia 
Military Institute, with the entire duties of the chair resting 
mainly upon him. This honorable post, with diffused study, 
original investigation and production, and remarkable suc- 
cess, he filled until the war-cloud burst in 186 1. At that time 
there were probably i^\'j men of his age on the continent of 
brighter promise. 

It was during this interesting period of his life that occurred 
the most important event, perhaps, of his earthly history; viz., 
the revival of those early religious impressions which, received 
under a godly mother's prayerful teaching, and deepened at the 
devoutly-conducted schools with which he had been favored, 
had been well-nigh obliterated by that worldly habit of mind 
to which incautious mortals are prone, especially a crowd of 
heedless youths away from the blessed infiuciices of home. 
Remarkable, instructive, and encouraging to all faithful ex- 
emplars and teachers of the revealed "way of life" was the 



150 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

process by which this superior young man was brought back 
to the narrow path conducting heavenward. He had been 
reading that racy and graphic, but not particularly serious, 
sketch ofboy-life, under the wholesome influence of a great and 
Christian soul, though peculiar, like that of Dr. Arnold, "Tom 
Brown at Rugby." The sketch, so natural and vivid, replaced 
him, as it were, in his own school-life under the godly, loving 
care of his teacher friend, Rev. John P. McGuire, and thence 
bore him back to the pleading piety of his now sainted mother. 
The foundations of his spiritual being were stirred to their 
depths. Scripture and prayer were his resources under the 
strong convictions produced. Of one or two friends, and 
especially of the parish rector, he also sought counsel. The 
result was a cordial acceptance of the blessed gospel as the 
sure record of a Divine Redeemer, and personal application 
to the Lord for acceptance in the covenant of grace. In con- 
sequence, on a visitation of the parish soon after, he publicly 
ratified his infantile baptismal vows, as one of the confirmed 
by Bishop Johns, on the 26th June, 1859. 

Thenceforward his life was that of a devout Christian and 
consistent, habitual communicant of the Church. He at once 
gladly accepted the superintcndency of the parish Sunday- 
school, and, until called away, usefully discharged its duties. 

In the early spring of 1861, war being virtually declared 
against the Southern States by Mr. Lincoln, representing the 
hostile passions of Northern and Western millions, Virginia 
and her children had, perforce, to prepare for her large share 
in the unequal contest, convinced, like her noble son General 
Lee, "that she had rights and principles to maintain, which 
she was bound to defend, even should she perish in the 
endeavor." 

The superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute was 
immediately called to act as one of a State war-council of 
three in Richmond. Stonewall Jackson and his associates 
of the Virginia Military Institute and the corps of cadets were 
promptly ordered to that capital for specific duties. Very 
soon those duties were assigned in various directions. Jack- 



STA PLE TON CR UTCHFIELD. 



151 



son was dispatched to the critical point, as supposed, of 
Harper's Ferry, and raised to the rank of brigadier. Colonels 
Gilham and Williamson had committed to them important 
and appropriate service, and Prof. Crutchfield, invested with 
the nominal rank of major, was, for the preparatory months 
of April, May, and June, assigned to the useful, though not 
inviting, task of drilling and preparing for the field a large 
number of young men from the University of Virginia. 

The collision of arms being evidently then at hand, all were 
naturally anxious to be in their right place for action ; and 
Grutchfield's earnest appeal for effectual assignment was 
answered by his being, early in July, 1861, commissioned 
major of the 9th Regiment Virginia Artillery Volunteers, and 
ordered for duty therewith to Craney Island, a point then 
deemed of great importance for the protection of Norfolk, and 
committed to the command of Colonel F. H. Smith, Superin- 
tendent Virginia Military Institute, now made colonel of the 
Artillery Regiment, 9th Virginia Volunteers, of which Crutch- 
field was major, and assigned to the defense of that island 
fort, believed to be liable to early assault by ships seeking 
access to Virginia's ancient and chief seaport. 

The force at Craney Island consisted of detachments from 
several regiments, besides a portion of the 9th Artillery. And 
as Colonel Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel Preston, and Major 
Crutchfield were all earnest Christian men, they divided 
the entire body into three communities for the purpose of 
separate religious instruction and worship, each ministering 
to his own charge with fervent and punctual zeal. Colonel 
Smith was afterwards honored by the Governor by being 
raised to the rank of brevet major-general of engineers. 

After some experience of the course of events, it was found 
that the tug of war lay in other scenes than the bristling 
island thus occupied. Crutchfield, therefore, with the ardor 
belonging to his youth, temperament, and convictions, earnestly 
sought transfer to active field-service, and was, accordingly, 
by the Governor, after a month or two, appointed lieutenant- 
colonel of the 58th Regiment Virginia Infantry Volunteers, 



152 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

and ordered with it into West Virginia, where it was necessary 
to restrain disaffection, and remedy previous disaster, and 
where, in consequence. General R. E. Lee was now in chief 
command. The difficulties and hardships of the campaign 
in that quarter during the fall and winter told severely upon 
the constitution of our young colonel. It therefore became 
essential that he should have hospital care, and be sent inward 
on sick-leave. He was about this time obliged to decline 
the full colonelcy of the i6th Virginia Infantry Volunteers, to 
which he had been elected. 

In the early spring of 1862, the invalid lieutenant-colonel 
was sufficiently recovered to be restless again for active serv- 
ice, and now found his congenial sphere. Stonewall Jackson, 
always extremely fond of Crutchfield, and holding him in 
high esteem, needed an efficient chief of artillery. Requisite 
communications passed on the subject, and the result was 
that the younger officer applied for by General Jackson was 
appointed colonel of artillery, ordered to report to General 
Jackson, and assigned to the important post of his chief of 
artillery. Arriving soon after the opening of that marvelous 
campaign of the grandest of all lieutenant-generals. Colonel 
Crutchfield, with the comprehensive vigor of his fertile and 
earnest mind, discharged with marked success the arduous 
duties devolving upon him, and contributed his full share to 
those bold, quick strokes of the master manoeuvrer by which 
Fremont, Banks & Co. were sent reeling towards Washington, 
and the victorious 2d Corps was left free to make for McClel- 
lan's rear at Richmond with the speed almost as of steam, and 
to f.dl upon it with the suddenness and power of a thunderbolt. 
Then in the sanguinary seven-days' conflicts, which broke the 
spirit of the misnamed young Napoleon and his hosts, and 
sent them crouching under cover of inaccessible gunboats far 
down James River, Crutchfield's genius and energy aided 
not a little the wondrous efficiency of Jackson's corps. 

So, too, was it in the speedily-following Jacksonian chastise- 
ment of the adventurous political-General Schenck at Cedar 
Mountain, and of the ridiculously-boasting Pope at second 



STAPLE TON CRUTCHFIELD, 



153 



Manassas. To Crutchfield's ever industrious and judicious 
management of his portion of that most complex arm, the 
artillery, with its manifold objects of attention, officers, men, 
guns, carriages, ammunition, horses, harness, and all corre- 
sponding necessary supplies, and the selection, besides, of 
battle positions, and having his telling arm well posted and 
plied therein, was due more than small credit for those great 
achievements. The same is also true of the capture of Har- 
per's Ferry by Jackson in the late summer of 1862, under 
cover of General Lee's crossing the Potomac at Leesburg 
and feigning to menace Washington. Then in the bloody 
fight at Sharpsburg, amazing in the fact that twenty-seven 
thousand Confederates stunned and disabled nearly one 
hundred thousand Federals, the well-managed artillery con- 
tributed much to the mighty part performed by Jackson and 
his corps. 

At Fredericksburg again, 13th December, 1862, Crutch- 
field and his artillery, with Jackson on the Confederate 
right, grandly aided the destructiveness with which that hero 
hurled back the immense multitude sent by Burnside to over- 
power that wing of General Lee's army. 

Efficient in meeting the difficult questions of forage, etc., 
during the quiescence of an inclement winter, no less than in 
discharging all duty under the excitements of campaigning, our 
chief of artillery succeeded in keeping his arm in condition for 
service through the trying winter of 1862-63. So that on the 
opening of the contest with the great battle of Chancellors- 
ville. May 2, 1863, he was ready, with a thoroughly-prepared 
artillery force, to accompany General Jackson, and to share 
with him the peril and the glory of there contributing so 
largely to the defeat of "fighting Joe" Hooker, with his thrice- 
overmatching numbers. 

At priceless cost, even Jackson's life invaluable, it is known 
that great victory was purchased. And, though not at his side, 
yet, about the same moment, severely wounded was his faith- 
ful friend and trusted artillery chief, Colonel Crutchfield. 
From the field the same ambulance bore them tofjcther. 



154 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Neither knew who was his fellow-sufferer until a few faint 
words on either side revealed them to each other. 

While the wound of the immortal commander of the 2d 
Corps, Army of Northern Virginia, proved, after a {q.\n days, 
fatal, that of his able and efficient artillery chief was found 
to be, not indeed mortal, but a long while disabling. When 
sufficiently recovered from the great nervous shock to be re- 
moved any considerable distance, he was sent to Lexington 
for assiduous nursing, and to be under the skillful treatment 
of that eminent surgeon, Dr. McGuire, Sr., then post-surgeon 
at Lexington. For a number of months the shattered bones," 
nerves, etc., of the leg not only caused to the sufferer extreme 
and prostrating pain, but the remarkable slowness with which 
they seemed to take on healthy action toward readjustment 
and restoration, impressed the experienced surgeon with the 
conviction that his patient could never again be fit for field 
service. Under this state of facts the Board of Visitors of 
Virginia Military Institute unanimously elected the wounded 
colonel of artillery to the chair of Natural Philosophy, etc., 
which Stonewall Jackson's lamented death had left vacant, 
and it was by Colonel Crutchfield accepted under the idea 
that for field duty he was permanently disabled. 

To the surprise of all, however, great improvement in his 
condition supervened, during the winter of 1863-64, so that 
feeling himself again adequate to duty with the army, he 
could no longer be persuaded to forego the presentation of 
himself for assignment to suitable service where most im- 
portant. His old post was no longer open for resumption by 
him. On the death of the unmatched lieutenant-general who 
had commanded the 2d Corps, General Lee determined that 
of that corps, and of the ist, commanded by Longstreet, 
there should be formed a third, of which General A. P. Hill 
should be the lieutenant-general commanding, while Long- 
street should, as before, command the ist, and Lieutenant- 
General Ewell the 2d. Colonel E. P. Alexander was pro- 
moted, and became brigadier-general and chief of artillery, 1st 
Corps. Colonel A. S. Long became, in like manner, briga- 



STAPLE TON CRUTCHFIELD. 



155 



dier-general and chief of artillery, 2d Corps, and Colonel R. L, 
Walker, brigadier-general and chief of artillery, 3d Corps. 

No fit place thus remained with the army in the field for 
the efficient 2d Corps' chief of artillery, so long unavoidably 
absent that his post had necessarily been assigned to another; 
well-earned promotion also had he thereby failed to receive. 

Richmond being constantly the objective-point aimed at by 
the Washington government and its army and navy of inva- 
sion, it was of course essential there should be always ready a 
sufficient and well-officered force defending the lines around 
this city. To the command of an important portion of tliese 
defenses was Colonel Crutchfield at once assigned, when in 
person he reported for duty to the adjutant-general, and re- 
quested some adequate and useful active service. Thus it was 
that he missed the great battles of 1864, from the Wilderness 
to second Cold Harbor, in which Grant with his two hundred 
thousand was so tremendously butchered and beaten off by 
General Lee and his primary fifty thousand. Still, in com- 
mon with his fellow-defenders of the Richmond lines, on 
occasion, — such as the cavalry dash after Stuart's death, — to 
surprise and carry the works, etc., — Crutchfield found need 
there for all that he possessed of sagacity, courage, and skill. 
Only by the exercise of such qualities on the part of his asso- 
ciates and himself were several such attempts at surprise and 
capture effectually frustrated. 

When General Grant, marvelously outgeneraled by Gen- 
eral Lee and beaten away down to City Point, yielded his 
famous purpose to " fight it out on" the direct " line" to Rich- 
mond, and substituted, therefore, the investment of Peters- 
burg, the defensive line at Richmond became of even greater 
importance, inasmuch as General Lee's reduced force could 
spare but a handful to oppose the large threatening body 
which Grant might leave from his reinforced masses, shat- 
tered as they had been, on the north bank of James River. 
His main body it was essential General Lee should meet and 
counteract in their attempt upon Petersburg. 

Active movements and vigorous fighting occurred from 



156 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

time to time on the Richmond h'nes, as well as on those around 
Petersburg, during the fall of 1864 and winter of 1865, and in 
these, so far as they involved his post of service, Colonel 
Crutchfield with the brave men, his companions, bore an 
efficient part. 

Thus came the early spring of 1865, witnessing increase of 
want and diminution of strength in the Confederate men, 
indivijdually, and in their numbers and ability as an army. 
The barbarous policy of devastation in productive districts 
which Grant, Sherman, etc., had adopted, and the kindred 
plan of giving five Federals for one Confederate, Grant's 
suggestion of genius, the notorious scheme of "attrition," 
were severely telling on the gallant defenders of the rights 
of their States, their altars, and their firesides, and reducing 
to dimensions wholly inadequate their organized army. The 
alternated line of over thirty miles from the northern side 
of Richmond around to the southern and western sides of 
Petersburg, — affording in many places scarce one defender 
to ten paces, — was, on the morning of Sunday, April 2, 1865, 
broken by a combined charge of the enemy at a point south- 
west of Petersburg, 

Only the extraordinary genius, self-possession, and power 
of General Lee enabled him to hold at bay the enemy's surg- 
ing masses at such an hour, and get his own troops, scattered 
as they were, within an interior line, which his foresight had 
provided. Within that line, however, they were, to a wonder- 
ful extent, securely gotten, so that again were the swollen 
numbers of his adversary effectually defied. Still, it was ob- 
vious the day had arrived for evacuating Petersburg, and with 
it, by consequence, Richmond. Dispatches were accordingly 
sent by General Lee to the Executive and War Department 
in Richmond, with requisition for abundant supplies to be sent 
by railroad to Amelia Court-House, whither the command- 
ing general would hasten with his force, and where it was 
directed all the troops in and around Richmond should also 
rendezvous. There accordingly met, by Wednesday forenoon, 
April 5, 1865, all that remained of the glorious Army of 



5 TA PLE TON CR UTCHFIELD. 



15; 



Northern Virc^inia, including tlie gallant General Ewell, who 
had for some time been commanding at Richmond; General 
Custis Lee, with an important body of Richmond defenders, 
armed artisans, etc., and Colonel Crutchfield under them, 
controlling an extemporized brigade, and acting as brigadier. 

From some cause no supplies, so essential for famishing 
men and animals, arrived, and therefrom resulted the greatest 
difficulties conceivable. Processes of relief had to be extem- 
porized, which necessitated delay and correspondent loss of 
precious time, every moment of which should else have been 
employed in hastening to the mountains. 

This loss of time was rendered more perilous by the fact 
that a dispatch from army headquarters to the authorities 
in Richmond, indicating General Lee's numbers and route, 
was in the city mislaid, and fell into the enemy's hands. The 
Confederate plan was therefore known, as otherwise it could 
not have been ; and hence unusual activity characterized the 
enemy in driving forces ahead to obstruct the advance of our 
army on its ascertained route, and others in pursuit to harass, 
where possible, its obstructed rear. 

From the nature of the case, the less seasoned and disci- 
plined troops, from Richmond, under their commanders, inter- 
spersed with a few organized bodies of the hardy veterans of 
General Lee's long-tried army, had to bring up the rear. It 
was scarcely possible that men, so long mainly stationary, 
should keep up, in forced marches, with soldiers whom habit 
had rendered, under Jackson and others, entitled to the desig- 
nation "foot cavalry." Thus it happened that while these 
latter, the more thoroughly trained portion of our army, had, 
for the most part, to push on with vigor at night, get into 
position, form line of battle, and fight all day, the less active 
portion, assisted by such of what might be termed the " regu- 
lars" of the Southern force as could be spared from the front, 
had to bring up the rear, which was supposed less likely to be 
assailed by any formidable array of the enemy. The inference 
was, — no one dreaming of the secret of our course having been 
gotten by the enemy, through a dispatch mislaid in Rich- 



158 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

mond, — that their main endeavor would be to obstruct our 
progress by a strong cavalry force, so as to allow the main 
body of the enemy to come up, as advised by the cavalry, and 
cut off our advance toward the mountains. 

There proved, however, an obstruction in the way of the 
rear half of the Confederate column, which the knowledge 
possessed by the enemy prevented their overcoming with ad- 
equate promptness, and which placed them almost inevitably 
within the destructive power of an immense pursuing body of 
the enemy. That obstruction was the well-nigh impassable 
mud in the road and along all parallel tracks across the Valley, 
and at the defile road of Sailor's Creek, a small stream which 
empties into the Appomattox River. Much rain had fallen, 
rendering the passage of wagons, etc., everywhere difficult, and 
here, of course, peculiarly so. Moreover, the passage of all 
the leading half of our column, with its artillery and train, had 
rendered doubly difficult, and well-nigh impracticable, the 
miry Valley and defile of the Sapor's Creek passage. 

Here, then, utterly hindered and unavoidably more or less 
confused, was all that portion of our column exposed to sur- 
rounding and overwhelming assault. And in this condition it 
was virtually surrounded and severely attacked. 

Able and intrepid commanders did, in the emergency, all 
that could be achieved under such conditions with troops a 
number of whom were recently from hospitals and work- 
shops. The gallant and maimed General Ewell, with accus- 
tomed vigor, directed preparations for meeting the enemy at 
all points. General Custis Lee, in personal command of the 
mixed organizations from Richmond, supervised the arrange- 
ment of them, and valiantly directed them in the fight, while 
General Richard Anderson, much confided in by General Lee, 
had special command of the trained troops assisting all that 
rear portion of our column. 

Colonel Crutchfield, to whom had been committed a 
brigadier-general's command of the troops from Richmond, 
was at his post, faithfully endeavoring to preserve order under 
the severe pressure of enveloping attack. Confusion incident 



STAPLETON CRUTCHFIELD. 



159 



to such attack was becoming diffusive, and it was growing 
more and more evident some readjustment of forces must be 
promptly made. And having at hand no staff officer to send 
to General Custis Lee or General Ewell for orders and relief, 
the acting brigadier himself, after a moment's conference with 
Major Hardin, a fellow-graduate of the Virginia Military In- 
stitute, and gallant battalion commander, whom he saw near, 
efficiently using against the enemy his small force, put spurs 
to his horse and rode under a furious fire to find one of the 
generals commanding, and get, if possible, assistance for this 
exposed point, and explanation of plans for the future. This 
was the last known of him in life; A short time after he was 
found on the field, not far from where his conference with 
Major Hardin had occurred, shot through the head, and en- 
tirely lifeless. Before that night closed in the whole organ- 
ized force there had been compelled to surrender. Generals 
Ewell and Custis Lee were prisoners, and such appliances as 
they had at the impracticable pass fell into the enemy's hands. 
None escaped but a 'icw hundreds of tough, active, and reso- 
lute men, who, foreseeing the result, made good their exit, and 
reached the hard-fighting advance-half of what remained of 
the toil-worn and battle-reduced Army of Northern Virginia, 
At the time of his tragic end Colonel Crutchfield was 
within a month or two of being thirty years old, and it may 
be with modest confidence affirmed that there was scarcely 
another man of his age on the continent who excelled him in 
mental endowments and scientific culture, in faithful gallantry 
as a patriot soldier, and in the exemplary performance of all 
relative duties. For six years he had been a devout, con- 
sistent, earnest Christian, marked alike by fervency, cheerful- 
ness, and practical activity for others' welfare; and on the 
minds of his pious friends there can remain no shadow of 
doubt that his glorious death of momentary pain was a blessed 
release from miseries unnumbered, in his beloved Virginia and 
her Southern sisters subjugated, and a joyful entrance upon the 
privileged condition of the "spirits of the just made perfect." 

Rev. Wm. N. Pendleton, D.D. 



l6o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



BASIL G. DABNEY, 



OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, THOMPSON S HORSE 
ARTILLERY. 



That their loved ones had died for a cause that was lost 
seemingly in vain, intensified the grief that brooded over so 
many Southern homes when the tidings came that our armies 
had surrendered. How much deeper then was the sorrow, 
how much harder the blow to bear, when, with the loss of our 
loved cause, came simultaneously the news that in the last of 
the dark days between Petersburg and Appomattox, a friend, 
a brother, a son, had fallen, — so near the end, so near the time 
when we could have felt him safe from the dangers of war! 
God knows it was a bitter peace to us ! Too hard to bear but 
for His help. 

Basil Gordon Dabney was born on the 29th of October, 
1847. He was the eldest son of Major William S. Dabney 
and Susan F. Dabney, nee Gordon. He was born in Albe- 
marle County, where his parents resided, and was taught at 
home under the instruction of a private tutor until 1859, when 
he was sent to the neighboring school of Captain Willoughby 
Tebbs, where he remained until Captain Tebbs entered the 
army, in the beginning of the war. After this he continued 
his studies at home until the latter part of 1864, when he en- 
tered the Virginia Military Institute, then located temporarily 
at Richmond. In February, 1865, thinking it his duty to go 
into service, he left the Institute and joined Thompson's Bat- 
tery of Horse Artillery, which was then disbanded for the 
winter. About the last of March he received orders to report 
at Petersburg. He reached Richmond on the 2d of April, — 
the day before the city was evacuated, — and finding his com- 
pany not yet reorganized, together with his captain, James 
Thompson, and other members of his company, he joined 



EDWARD MOON DABNEY. l6i 

temporarily the 2d Virginia Cavalry, and was with that regi- 
ment on the retreat. 

On Thursday, the 6th of April, 1865, when a number of 
Confederate baggage-wagons were attacked near Farmville, 
in Prince Edward County, the 2d Virginia Cavalry was or- 
dered to their defense. A severe fight ensued, and in it young 
Dabney received a wound in the right leg, just below the 
knee. The surgeon to whose care he was intrusted deemed 
amputation necessary. Owing to the carelessness of the sur- 
geon (who was intoxicated) the chloroform was improperly 
administered, and the poor boy never rallied frorn the opera- 
tion, but died that evening, — April 6, 1865, — aged seventeen 
years and nearly six months. 

Basil Dabney when at school had proved himself a hard 
student. He was naturally fond of reading and study, and 
was always at the head of his classes. By his teacher he was 
deemed a youth of very great promise. His family and friends 
had looked with hope to the fulfillment of this promise. But 
it was not to be so. Only four days a soldier, his life was 
borne away on the dying groan of the Southern Confederacy, 



EDWARD MOON DABNEY, 

OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " C," $20 VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

Edward M. Dabney, son of Walter Davis, and Lucy Hick- 
man Dabney, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on the 28th 
of March, 1839. But upon the death of his mother, a short 
time after his birth, he was brought to Virginia, and raised by 
his uncle. Major William S. Dabney, of Albemarle County. 
When about ten years old he was entered at the school of Mr. 
Franklin Minor, in the neighborhood of Charlottesville. Here, 
during the several sessions which he spent under Mr. Minor's 

II 



l62 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

tuition, he showed but little aptitude for study. Fond of fun, 
practical jokes, and a great tease, his books had few charms 
for him. In 1855 young Dabney went to Florida to live with 
an uncle, who resided in that State, remaining with him only 
one year. Soon after his return to Virginia he entered the 
Virginia Military Institute, where he matriculated on the 3d 
of August, 1858, becoming a member of the fourth class. In 
April, 1 861, the corps of cadets was ordered into service, to 
act as drill-masters in the camp of instruction at Richmond, 
and the professors entered the army in different capacities. 
This of course necessitated the suspension of the academic 
exercises of the Institute. Cadet Dabney was at this time a 
member of the first class, which was to graduate on the 4th of 
July, 1 86 1. This being prevented by the circumstances men- 
tioned above, their diplomas were not issued until the 6th of 
the following December. This class served well in defense of 
their country, twenty-seven out of thirty-five — the number in 
class — subsequently becoming officers, and seven being killed. 
Of the latter, four had stood together in class, — Lieutenant T, 
Alexander, Lieutenant T. C. Kinney, Captain E. M. Dabney, 
and Lieutenant R. D. B. Sydnor. 

Lieutenant Dabney (for he had received a commission as 
second lieutenant in the Confederate army) having performed 
his duty as drill-master at Richmond, went to Augusta County 
and raised a company of infantry, which afterwards became 
Co. " C," 5 2d Virginia Infantry, of which he was elected cap- 
tain. This company he led through arduous service, com- 
manding it in two pitched battles. In the first, at Alleghany 
Mountain, Captain Dabney distinguished himself by remark- 
able gallantry. In the second, at McDowell, May 8, 1862, 
he was so severely wounded in his right arm as to make it 
impossible for him to return to duty until the following fall. 
Having in the mean time been advised to get a discharge from 
service, he refused, and as soon as his wound would allow him 
rejoined his command. At Fredericksburg, just after the 
capture of Marye's Hill, he had dismounted from his horse, 
being at the time acting major of the regiment, when he was 



y. LUCIUS DAVIS, JR. 1 63 

shot through the hips by a grape-shot, and fell mortally 
wounded. That night he was carried to Richmond, and died 
ten days after, — on the 23d of December, 1862, — aged twenty- 
three years and nine months. 

Captain Dabney was an exceedingly tall man, being six 
feet four inches in height. Generous, warm-hearted, and 
brave, he was remarkable for his daring and adventurous dis- 
position, and was in more than one instance in danger of 
losing his life by indulgence in dangerous sports. As a 
soldier. Captain Dabney's gallantry was remarkable, being 
specially noticeable at the battle of McDowell. 



J. LUCIUS DAVIS, Jr., 

OF HENRICO COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, lOTH VIRGINIA CAVALRY. 

The brave young soldier whose name stands at the head of 
this sketch was born in 1842. His father, Colonel J. Lucius 
Davis, a graduate of West Point, and well known as a military 
man in Richmond, was living at the beginning of the war on 
his farm not far from that city. Here he had given his sons, 
of whom Lucius was the eldest, such thorough training in all 
manly accomplishments as fitted them specially for military 
service, their boldness and skill in horsemanship being pro- 
verbial. 

Lucius, in addition to his accomplishments in this direc- 
tion, showed a decided literary talent at an early age. His 
father's taste leading him to the study of the Oriental lan- 
guages, Lucius was early placed under the instruction of the 
Rev. Dr. Michelbacher, a well-known rabbi of Richmond, and 
made such rapid progress in Hebrew that when about twelve 
years old he was able to read the Old Testament fluently, as 
well as to write in Hebrew with great facility. Being at the 
University in the beginning of the war, he joined the Univer- 



l64 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

sity Rifles as a private, and served with this company five or 
six months. He then enlisted in one of the companies of his 
father's regiment, the loth Virginia Cavalry, and in a short 
time was promoted to a lieutenancy, and performed his duties 
faithfully and creditably throughout the arduous campaign 
. of 1862. A lull then taking place in military operations, he 
resigned his commission and entered the Virginia Military 
Institute. Here he remained until he heard of his father's 
capture in the last Maryland campaign, when he rejoined his 
company and served in its ranks as a private until the day of 
his death. 

On Friday, the 24th of June, 1864, in a cavalry fight near 
Samaria Church, Charles City County, Virginia, the lOth 
Regiment was ordered to charge a well-entrenched force of 
the enemy. As the regiment swept across the field, young 
Davis shouted to his company, " Look out, boys ; I will be 
first in the enemy's works!" And so he was. Just as he 
was passing over the parapet, he received full in his face the 
charge fired from the gun of one of the foe stooping behind 
the works, and fell dead. Inspired by his brave example, his 
comrades rushed on, stormed the works, avenged his death, 
and gained victory for the cause which had brought about 
the death of one of their bravest boys. His remains, together 
with those of a cousin killed at the same time, were buried in 
the cemetery of Emmanuel Church, near his old home in 
Henrico. 

Lucius Davis was in private life genial and pleasant, yet 
exceedingly modest and diffident. On the field of battle he 
was as brave as a lion, quiet in danger, undaunted by death. 
A true and devoted Christian, in death he rejoined his brother 
Llewellyn, who, like himself, had fallen a sacrifice to patriotic 
devotion. Both of them were privates in the loth Cavalry, 
the first and second sons of an earnest defender of the lost 
cause, who himself has passed away from earth. 



THOMAS B. DAVIS. 165 



THOMAS B. DAVIS, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA; SECOND LIEUTENANT, CO. "D," 2D VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY, 

Thomas Bowker Davis, a native of the city of Lynchburg, 
was a son of Jolin T. Davis, a well-known citizen of that place, 
and was born in 1843. A student of Lynchburg College at the 
breaking out of the war, though a mere youth of delicate 
frame and constitution, it was the ardent desire of his heart to 
hasten from home and loved ones at his country's call. But 
at the earnest solicitation, in fact, command, of his father (who 
deemed him too young, as well as physically unfit, for the hard- 
ships of camp duty), he entered as a cadet the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, January i, 1862. He soon won the regard of 
both professors and students, — with the latter universally 
popular, loved as a brother by many. It was said by some of 
his fellow-students that he was regarded as the most popular 
cadet who had ever been at the Institute. 

While at the Institute he constantly plead for permission to 
enter the army, cared nothing for position, but evidenced his 
true patriotism by his anxiety to serve his country in any 
capacity. From one of his letters, written February, 1862, is 
the following quoted: 

"The cadets held a meeting on yesterday, offering their 
services to the Governor for military duty. I do not think 
they will be accepted as a body. So far as I am concerned, I 
would as willingly go into the army as private in a good 
company as to have a title; I think in these times a man 
should be willing to serve his country in any capacity. I do 
not think while my country is struggling for life any time to 
receive an education. I hope after the war to carry out my 
original plan of studying medicine; but now I cannot be 
satisfied out of active service. I wish you would use your 



1 66 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

influence with father to gain his consent for me to resign and 
enter the army at once." 

In a letter dated May i, 1862, he mentions with much 
pleasure orders received by General Smith from General 
Jackson to reinforce the latter with the corps of cadets. He 
was with the corps in their service under General Jackson, 
and a good account of him was rendered. About this time 
he suffered from ill health, for which cause he received a fur- 
lough of two weeks. 

During the years 1862 and 1863 he was with the cadets in 
all of their marches, and when there was occasion acquitted 
himself with credit. 

The 1st of February, 1864, having at last gained the con- 
sent of his father, he came home to prepare to enter the army 
during the ensuing month. His desire to serve his country 
had increased, though his boyish passion for glory and adven- 
ture had changed to a firm conviction of duty alone. He now 
believed our struggle for liberty would be long and bloody, 
but his desire was to take his share of the burden. Being 
fully persuaded of our ultimate success, he freely offered his 
life to the cause. 

In March, 1864, he joined Co. " D," 2d Virginia Cavalry, 
under the immediate command of Captain Holland, the regi- 
ment of Colonel Munford, afterwards brigadier-general. 

In April he was in camp near Orange Court-House, in front 
of Montpelier, the residence of President Madison. During 
the month of June he fought daily for two weeks in those 
memorable battles around Richmond with a spirit and bravery 
never surpassed and seldom equaled. All who knew him 
testify that there was never a nobler, braver soldier. 

Several times, when excused from an encounter on account 
of the unfitness of his horse, did he borrow one from a com- 
rade and allow him to use the plea of a worn-out horse, and 
in every instance when appointed to hold the horses did he 
yield that safer position and mount for the fight. 

On the morning of a desperate encounter he was so unwell 
that his feeble condition was observed by a companion, who 



THOMAS B. DAVIS. 1 67 

advised him to ask leave to retire. He refusing, this friend 
called the captain, who entreated him to leave the field. Fail- 
ing to have any effect, the captain reported his condition to 
Colonel Munford, who was kind enough to see him in person 
and request him to retire. Not consenting, the colonel then 
said, "As your commander, Mr. Davis, I order you to leave 
the field." He, however, fought through the day, or until 
the enemy was routed, then being in so exhausted a condi- 
tion that he had to be assisted from his horse. 

In June, gaining permission to visit Captain Holland, who 
was lying wounded in a hospital in Richmond, he remained 
in that city long enough also to see his sister, who asked 
why he was wearing his heavy overcoat on such an oppress- 
ive day, whereupon he was forced to acknowledge he had 
given his only other coat to a wounded soldier. 

As there was no fighting in his department, on the ist of 
July he was granted a two weeks' furlough to recruit his 
wasted strength, get a new horse, and clothes which he needed. 
The only respite from the army this noble boy ever asked or 
received. 

The 15th day of August he writes from the Valley of 
Virginia : " I am pleasantly situated, but I anticipate rough 
work, as the Yankees are all around us." 

His forebodings were painfully realized, for in a {^v^ short 
weeks it was there his brilliant career was ended. 

Again, the 3d of September, he writes : " We have had an 
active campaign since being in the Valley (then near Win- 
chester), but not so severe as the one previous, near Rich- 
mond." 

About this time Lieutenant Craghead and three others of 
his company were killed. 

During the latter part of the summer Davis was appointed 
second lieutenant in " D" Company. The following extracts 
from his letters will give some account of his life during the 
last month of his life : 

"We are having skirmishes every day, but no general 
engagement." 



1 68 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Waynesboro', September 29. — "I have escaped unhurt; 
expect I may come home within two weeks." 

Bridgewater, October 4. His next and last letter. — "We 
have had a very rough time since the battle of Winchester, 
but our brigade has lost comparatively little. My health is 
better than usual. I need a fresh horse ; may come home 
for it very soon. General Rosser is in command of this 
division." 

The next news concerning him was the sad announcement 
that he had received a wound in the breast, the 8th day of 
October, in a skirmish near Fisher's Hill, was captured with 
an ambulance-train the next day, the 9th. At the time of his 
capture he was lying on the floor of an ambulance; he raised 
himself on his elbow, rallied the men, shouting, " Will you let 
yourselves be taken by a handful of Yankees ?" This exer- 
tion being too much for his enfeebled condition, he fainted. 
Mr. T. P. Taylor, who was with him, serving on a detail to 
care for the wounded, said he had never witnessed greater 
gallantry or more heroic conduct. 

After reaching Winchester, he lingered only for a few days. 
In prison, without necessary comforts, far from home and all 
who loved him, with no tender hand to soothe his dying 
moments, he quietly passed away on the 20th of October, 
1864, at the age of twenty-one. During frequent conversa- 
tions with Mr. Taylor he always expressed entire resignation 
to the will of God, sent messages to his family, for from the 
first of his imprisonment he believed he would never recover 
from the effects of his wound. 

In November, 1865, a year after his death, his father suc- 
ceeded in recovering the remains of his only son, and he now 
sleeps in the family square in a cemetery near Lynchburg. 



CHARLES A. DERBY. 169 



CHARLES A. DERBY, 

OF DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 44TH REGIMENT ALABAMA 

INFANTRY. 

Our tenderest feelings and warmest love are aroused at the 
sight of the graves of our unknown heroes, not that we deem 
them braver or better than others whose names stand at the 
head of their glorious record, for ofttimes comrades have 
fought shoulder to shoulder in the fierce conflict, and fallen 
side by side, pierced by the dreadful missiles of death, when, 
by happy accident, the one is known and is borne home to 
have the last sad offices tenderly performed for him by sorrow- 
ing loved ones, while the other, unknown, is rudely covered 
by rough, unfeeling hands ; but that having no known mothers, 
sisters, or brothers who would have a peculiar right to mourn 
them, as Southern soldiers we deem them brothers to the whole 
people, and feel that it is the people's duty, though their names 
be unknown, never to let the memory of their actions perish. 

Among the grand army of unknown dead, no braver spirit 
winged its flight to heaven than that of Colonel Charles A. 
Derby. 

Charles A. Derby, son of Perry L. Derby, Esq., and Mar- 
tha A. Derby, was born in Dinwiddie County, Virginia, on 
the 1 2th of September, 1828. His early boyhood was spent 
on his {cither's plantation. At the age of ten years he was 
sent to Winfield Academy, in his native county, to Mr. Wil- 
liam Maghee, under whose instruction he made such rapid 
improvement in elementary studies as to give his teacher high 
hopes of his success in life. On the §th of August, 1845, just 
entering his seventeenth year, he was appointed, upon the rec- 
ommendation of Dr. William F. Thompson, Dr. E. P. Scott, 
and General Dromgoole, a State cadet in the Virginia Military 
Institute. Pursuing the course of study in this school, he 
graduated with distinction on the 4th of July, 1848, standing 



I70 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

fifth in a class of twenty-three members, among whom were 
Major-General R. E. Rodes and Brigadier-General J. R. 
Jones, afterwards of the Confederate army. After graduating 
he taught in a private family in Northumberland County, Vir- 
ginia, for one year, then took charge of the Fairfax Academy, 
located at Fairfax Court-House, which, under his auspices, 
became a flourishing school. Here he remained during two 
sessions, until compelled by a very severe attack of typhoid 
fever, lasting four or five months, to give it up. Having re- 
gained his health, Mr. Derry removed to Sumterville, Ala- 
bama, where he was put in charge of an academy just opened 
in that place. By assiduous effort, and that strict attention to 
duty which was so marked a characteristic of the man, he 
soon established this school on a firm basis, and carried it 
on successfully until 1853, when he was elected Professor of 
Mathematics and Commandant of Cadets in the military insti- 
tute at Drennon Springs, Kentucky, of which school General 
Bushrod Johnston was superintendent. After performing the 
duties of his position for nearly a year, to the satisfaction of 
all and with great credit to himself, an epidemic broke out 
among the cadets, from which a great number died; the rest, 
in consternation, left for their homes, making it necessary to 
discontinue the school. Professor Derby was then appointed 
Professor of Mathematics in the Georgia Military Institute, at 
Marietta. While here he married Miss Clara J. Hunt, daughter 
of Professor William H. Hunt, who died within twelve months 
after her marriage. After the death of his wife. Professor 
Derby returned to Alabama and opened the Eutaw Institute, 
in 5utaw, Greene County. Over this institution he continued 
to preside until 1854, when he entered the Episcopal ministry, 
taking charge of St. Peter's Church, Lowndes County, Ala- 
bama. On the 28th of December, 1859, ^^^ married Miss 
Charlotte Basset, daughter of Mr. William Basset, of Cahawba, 
Alabama, who, with two little daughters, survives him. Per- 
forming the duties of his sacred office until the breaking out 
of the war, he entered the army, telling his parents in a letter 
written to them at the time that he had done so " from a sense 



CHARLES A. DERBY. 



171 



of duty, — having received a military education in his native 
State, he was coming to help to defend her rights." Though 
for more than ten years he had led a life of many vicissitudes 
far away from his mother State, yet at the first call of duty 
the true spirit of a worthy son of the Old Dominion urged 
him to rush to avenge her injuries. 

In the spring of 1862 the 44th Regiment of Alabama Vol- 
unteers was organized at Selma, with the following field-offi- 
cers : Colonel, James Kent; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles A. 
Derby; Major, William F. Perry; Adjutant, Thomas A. Nic- 
olls. On the 17th of June, Colonel Kent being unfit for ser- 
vice, owing to ill health, the Governor of the State ordered 
Colonel Derby to proceed with his regiment to Petersburg, 
Virginia, and should he not meet orders at that point, to report 
to General R. E. Lee, who had just been placed in command 
of the army in Virginia. Colonel Derby in obedience to this 
order proceeded with his regiment to Richmond, and reported 
for duty just on the eve of the memorable seven-days' fight 
around that city, when, by one of the grandest strategical 
combinations ever conceived by military genius, the thor- 
oughly-disciplined and well-appointed masses of McClellan 
were hurled back, in confusion, upon their base of operations 
on James River. Colonel Derby's regiment being as yet 
composed of raw troops, was placed in reserve in the fortifica- 
tions, and consequently was not engaged. But in the fierce 
struggle in which every nerve had to be strained to withstand 
the attack of overpowering numbers, no regiment could long 
remain with the field of battle untried, and very soon the gal- 
lant 44th had an opportunity to show its mettle. On Manas- 
sas Plains, August 28, 29, and 30, with heavy loss, it assisted 
in routing the Federal army, under Pope. Colonel Derby 
was wounded in the hand, but not severely enough to cause 
him to leave his command. With his regiment greatly re- 
duced by heavy losses in this battle, and by sickness, Colonel 
Derby passed into Maryland, to end his brief but brilliant ca- 
reer on the field of Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862, just three 
months after he had left Selma. Here, after severe fighting 



172 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



durinfT nearly the whole day, just as orders were received to 
fall back, Colonel Derby fell, mortally wounded, struck by a 
rifle-ball in the chest. Though hard pressed by the enemy, 
some of his men took their loved commander and carried him 
a short distance to the rear, but so agonizing was the pain 
from his wound that he begged them to put him down and let 
him die on the field of battle, saying they could do him no 
good, and must therefore leave him and not allow themselves 
to be captured. Two brave fellows remained with him until 
life was almost extinct, and were then obliged to leave him to 
keep from being taken prisoners. Falling into the hands of 
the enemy, here he died, and was buried by strange, perhaps 
unfeeling, hands, no tidings of his resting-place ever reaching 
his parents or friends, though diligently sought for by them. 

Major William F. Perry, of the 44th, in a letter to Mrs. C. 
A. Derby, says, — 

" It affords me a melancholy pleasure to bear testimony to 
the noble qualities of our lamented commander, and to repeat 
the assurance that we all mingle our regret with the anguish 
of those who loved him more, because they sustained more 
endearing relations to him, and knew him better. He first 
won the hearts of his men by courtesy and kindness, and then 
challenged their admiration by his lion-like courage." 

Adjutant Thomas A. Nicolls made the following report to 
one of the Selma papers : 

" Herewith I send you a correct list of casualties in the 
44th Regiment Alabama Volunteers, Colonel Charles A, 
Derby commanding, at the battle of Sharpsburg, Wednesday, 
September 17, 1862. 

" Field and staff killed, Colonel Charles A. Derby. 

" The regiment went into action with one hundred and forty- 
nine men and thirteen commissioned officers. Loss, thirteen 
killed, fifty-four wounded, nine missing. Total, seventy-six. 
The combat was fierce, and there was no flinching on our 
side. We met the enemy in an open cornfield ; were ordered 
to charge and drive them out of it; which was done, we think, 



M. P. D EYE RLE. 1 73 

in a very creditable manner. It was then we suffered most 
severely, for the enemy's batteries had a fair sweep at us. 
When the color-sergeant was wounded, Sergeant Becker 
grasped the colors and gallantly bore them aloft into the 
thickest of the fight, until, advancing toward the enemy, he 
was lost to the sight of the regiment. 

" Colonel Derby acted with great bravery in this, as in the 
battle of Manassas Plains, and his loss is deeply lamented by 
the regiment. He had few superiors in the knowledge of 
military tactics, and in the art of imparting the same to others. 
He was a good Christian officer, loved and respected by his 
whole command." 



M. P. DEYERLE, 



OF ROANOKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN CO. "I," 28tH VIRGINIA IN- 
FANTRY. 

The subject of this brief memoir was born in the county 
of Roanoke, on the 25th of November, 1839, of an esteemed 
ancestry, who were among the early settlers of that beautiful 
Valley. He entered the Virginia Military Institute in the 
year 1856, where he remained for several sessions, and then 
returned to his home to engage in studies preparatory to the 
University of Virginia with a view to professional life. 

In the midst of these quiet pursuits, he watched with deep- 
est solicitude the progress of political events which hurried 
on to revolution. Thoroughly imbued with the opinion that 
"our cause was just," his generous sympathies were early en- 
listed, and before Virginia had disowned allegiance he tendered 
his services to the Confederacy established among the extreme 
Southern States. But when his own loved State, standing be- 
tween hostile parties in the hope to reunite a dismembered 
government, resigned its mediatorial capacity and leaped into 
the contest, the sword of our deceased friend flashed beside 
the first and foremost in defense of our institutions and soil. 



174 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL, 



He was the first to volunteer in the first company organ- 
ized in the county after the secession of the State. This com- 
pany ranked among its numbers the "pride and flower" of 
Roanoke. The promotion of Captain R, C. Allen (afterwards 
colonel of the 28th Regiment) before the company was 
equipped created a vacancy, to which our friend was elected, 
and it was mustered into service as Co. " I," of the 28th Vir- 
ginia Regiment, with M. P. Deyerle as captain. 

With that command he marched to the theatre of war. 
Assigned to the Army of Northern Virginia, he participated 
in the first general engagement at Manassas, and aided in 
deciding the fortunes of that eventful day. The wearisome 
inactivity which succeeded, the hardships of the bivouac in 
a dreary winter, and all the privations incident to the life of a 
soldier, did not subdue his ardor for the cause he had espoused. 
In the spring of 1862 his company re-enlisted, and he was 
again chosen its commanding officer. 

Hostilities changed to the Peninsula, and Captain Dey- 
erle's company was part of Early's Brigade, in Longstreet's 
Division. The battle of Williamsburg, on the 5th of May, 
opened the campaign for the year 1862. Few engagements, 
among the many sanguinary conflicts which marked this 
"era of warfare," exhibited more daring courage or sterner 
resistance. Throughout the day Captain Deyerle passed 
unscathed through the " iron tempest of hail," but as the 
shadows of evening were falling over the scene of carnage, 
as the last squadron was pressing to the charge, he fell mor- 
tally wounded. He was carried back to the town of Wil- 
liamsburg in an unconscious state, and with thoughts at rare, 
lucid moments wandering back to his own loved home, which 
would long echo with the sad anthem of his fall, he died, in 
the "ancient city," on the 14th of May, in the twenty-third 
year of his age, " ere the first flush of youth had scarcely 
flown." 

Few perished on that or other fields whose loss awakened 
deeper sorrow in their circle of acquaintance. With a form 
cast in nature's highest type of manhood, a mind trained by 



LESLIE C. DOVE. 



^7S 



strong and vigorous cultivation for the vicissitudes of fortune, 
guarded by those virtues which are ramparts of defense, he 
was panopHed in an armor to win success. Affable and kind, 
ardent in his friendships, and devoted in his attachments, he 
drew around him those with whom he had entered the 
threshold of life, while by strict integrity and moral deport- 
ment he earned a title to public confidence. 

Trained in the school of the soldier at the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, his martial tendencies rose from deeper sources 
than those which originate in the " pomp and circumstance" 
of war. He deprecated all the horror of civil strife, but when 
it became inevitable, he abandoned more congenial pursuits 
at the invocation of his country's wrongs, and with a con- 
tempt for danger which beset his pathway, he marched with 
firm, unfaltering step to the command of duty. 

When war had rolled up its banners his remains were dis- 
interred, and they now rest beside his eldest brother, Dr. 
Charles P. Deyerle, who was among the first graduates of 
the Virginia Military Institute, and other of his kindred in his 
own family burial-ground, where affection will keep watch 
over his "sleeping dust." 

D. A. Carter. 



LESLIE C. DOVE, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; COURIER, GENERAL JOHN R. CHAMBLISS. 

Leslie Ciiambliss Dove, son of Samuel E. Dove, Esq., of 
Richmond, was born in that city on the 24th December, 1845. 
After sending him to the schools of Rev. J. Ambler Weed and 
Mr. David Turner, both of Richmond, his father, to fit him, as 
soon as he should arrive at the proper age, to enter the army 
of his country in the manner best qualified to make him of 
efficient service, secured him a cadetship at the Virginia Mili- 



176 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

tary Institute, wliere he matriculated on the 2d of January, 
1862. But he could not be satisfied to remain here long. 
The thought that the war might terminate while he was at 
the Institute seemed to haunt him continually, and he often 
said that he would consider himself eternally disgraced if he 
did not strike a single blow in defense of his country, which 
he loved with all the ardor of a young high-spirited Southron. 
He determined, therefore, to leave the Institute and go at once 
into the army. Friends and relations endeavored to dissuade 
him from this purpose, urging that he was too young yet to 
enter upon the duties and hardships of active service, but all 
in vain, he had made up his mind, he remained firm in his de- 
termination, replying to all remonstrances, "It is my duty to 
go where they are fighting, and if I can strike but one blow 
for the South, I mean to strike tliat blow." When told by a 
friend that his father would not permit him to enter the army, 
he asked, " Did pa say so? Well, I never disobeyed him in 
my life, but I am going." Carrying out this determination, he 
handed in his resignation, and left the Institute on the 24th 
of March, 1862. Proceeding home immediately, after a i^^f 
weeks he connected himself informally with one of the com- 
panies of howitzers from Richmond, in which command he 
had numerous friends and acquaintances. Never regularly 
enlisting, he served with this company until the following 
winter, when his health being seriously impaired by exposure 
and fatigue, he returned home to recuperate. Here he re- 
mained until the 1st of July, 1863, when, having fully recov- 
ered, he, with several companions, set out to join the army, 
which was then in Maryland. Colonel (afterwards General) 
John R. Chambliss, of the 13th Virginia Cavalry, who was at 
that time acting brigadier-general, in expectation of the recep- 
tion of his commission, had promised Leslie a position upon 
his staff When he arrived, therefore, on the loth of July, 
General Chambliss assigned him, temporarily, to duty as 
courier. In this capacity he acted for two days, when, riding 
with some friends of the Petersburg Cavalry in the vicinity of 
Hagerstown, Maryland, on the 12th of July, 1863, he was 



LESLIE C. DOVE. 



177 



struck by a shrapnel-shot and fell mortally wounded. The 
enemy at the time were driving the Confederate forces before 
them, and, in the confusion of the retreat, he was left where he 
fell; in a few minutes after, the assistant surgeon of his regi- 
ment. Dr. Gregory, a personal friend, came up to him. Leslie 
immediately asked him for his candid opinion as to the nature 
of his wound. When the doctor told him that it was mortal, 
that he must soon die, he quietly said, without the slightest 
excitement, that it was just as he expected, that he had offered 
himself to his country and was not afraid to die for her. "Tell 
pa," he added, " good-bye ; and tell him, too, that I was not 
afraid to die." 

Although but a boy in years, no man was ever cooler, more 
composed, or met death with more firmness than Leslie Dove. 

A boy in years we said ; yes, but a heroic man in patriotic 
devotion to the right. His arm just raised in defense of his 
country, midst the glory of his baptism of fire comes the 
shrieking messenger of death, and the rich crimson tide of 
his heart-blood reddens the sod of down-trodden Maryland. 
Could such gift to their loved mother fail to inspire her sons 
with superhuman courage to avenge not only her own inju- 
ries, but the blood of the martyrs who fell on her soil ? We 
know it did not fail, and though they did not succeed in the 
end, it was because even courage superhuman could not over- 
come vastly superior numbers, cold, hunger, disease, and 
death. Conquered, not subdued, they yet cherish no dearer 
memory than that of the heroic bravery gf those who fouo-ht 
with them and fell while endeavoring to rescue their homes 
from the invader. 

Leslie Dove was strikingly handsome in appearance, and 
of disposition and manners that rendered him a favorite 
wherever he went. None but a truly noble life could have 
culminated in so noble a death. 



178 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



THOMAS DUDLEY, 

OF KING AND QUEEN COUNTY, VIRGINIA; SECOND LIEUTENANT, P. A. C. S. 

Thomas Dudley, eldest son of Alexander and Martha 
Ellen Dudley, of Benvenue, in King and Queen County, Vir- 
ginia, was born in that county on the 26th of February, 1846. 
His father was remarkable for his tireless energy, for a quick, 
penetrating, and retentive mind, and an unyielding persistence 
of purpose. His mother, whose maiden name was Jackson, 
was a pattern of every womanly virtue, and in every walk and 
relation of life a model for the imitation of her sex. The 
subject of our notice inherited in no small degree the traits 
and qualities of both parents. His earlier training and educa- 
tion were had at the common country schools then usually to 
be found in the vicinity of his father's residence, but the break- 
ing out of the civil war between the Northern and Southern 
divisions of the Union found him a pupil of Colonel J. C. 
Council, who at that time was, and still is, the proprietor and 
principal of a first-class mathematical and classical school 
known as Aberdeen Academy, which is also located in the 
county of King and Queen, But Latin and Greek and mathe- 
matics quickly lost their attractions for him, when, looking 
out from the academic grove, he beheld the stir and the move- 
ment agitating the whole surrounding country. The very first 
call for volunteers found him full of martial spirit and burning 
to join the ranks. His age, however, excluded him, being 
under that prescribed as the limit for enlistment, and com- 
pelled him to inaction for a while. But military orders and 
parental counsel were alike vain to repress the ardor or change 
the fixed purpose of our youthful patriot. 

Seeing him chafing under the restraint imposed upon him, 
and thinking, no doubt, that a little experience of the soldier's 
life might cure him of what they deemed a boyish infatuation, 
the parents of young Dudley consented to his going with the' 



THOMAS DUDLEY. 



179 



militia to Gloucester Point to serve a tour of duty without 
being mustered into service. At this he was greatly delighted, 
and he promptly joined the troops from his county and entered 
upon his duties as an independent. It now occurred to his 
father that the exercises, drill, and discipline of the Military 
Institute might satisfy his longings for a military life at the 
same time that he could resume and pursue his studies under 
favoring auspices. He was therefore entered as a pay cadet 
in the summer, or early autumn, of 1861, and remained until 
some time in the succeeding year, when, having at last obtained 
his parents' consent, he left, and joined the Army of Northern 
Virginia. 

The writer does not know what arm of the service or whose 
command he first joined, but knows that early in the summer 
of 1862 he was a private in Pelham's Battery, which was 
attached to, and generally aided the operations of, the 5th 
Virginia Cavalry, to which the writer himself belonged. His 
patient, uncomplaining endurance of hardships, privation, and 
suffering, for which his gentle nurture had never prepared 
him ; his prompt and cheerful obedience to orders; his mod- 
esty and courage, and the alacrity with which he went to the 
performance of every duty, soon won for him the kindly re- 
gards of the rough and hard men who were his comrades in 
the battery, and the open, generous recognition of his merits 
by his commander, the peerless Pelham. Finding himself 
surrounded in Stuart's artillery with a personal element wholly 
strange and uncons^enial to him, he some time after the first 
Maryland campaign obtained a transfer to Captain Fox's com- 
pany, 5th Cavalry, which was made up of material from his 
own and one or two adjoining counties. He was subsequently, 
upon the earnest recommendation of his superiors, especially 
of Major Pelham, promoted for meritorious service by Plxecu- 
tive appointment to the rank of second lieutenant, P. A. C. S., 
and assigned to duty as enrolling-officer in Greensville County. 
By special orders dated March i, 1864, he was relieved from 
duty in Greensville, and assigned to similar duty in Giles 
County, under Lieutenant A, F. Matthews, to whom he was 



l8o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ordered to report. Although, for some reason not known, 
his appointment to a lieutenancy was not confirmed by the 
Senate, he continued to serve as enroHing-officer, with the 
nominal rank of lieutenant, until May lO, 1864. On the 15th 
he addressed the following letter (now before the writer) to 
Colonel J. C. Sheild : 

" On the loth of this month (May, 1864) I had to leave my 
post at Giles Court-House on account of the enemy occu- 
pying Dublin. They now hold possession of that section of 
the country, and I find it impossible to return at present. 

"I therefore respectfully ask permission to rejoin my old 
•company until I can be able to return to duty. 

"Signed, 

"Thomas Dudley, 
" Lieutejiant and Eiirolliiig-Officer, Giles y 

This permission was readily accorded. He proceeded, by 
leave, at once to his native county to procure a horse; and, 
after a sojourn of a few days at home, he reported to Captain 
Fox for duty as a private in his company. About this time 
the enemy began seriously to threaten our central railroad 
line of communication, and almost the entire cavalry force of 
the Army of Northern Virginia was brought up and disposed 
for its protection. On the nth of June Sheridan struck the 
road at Trevillian, in Louisa County; but the 5th Virginia 
and other regiments of Fitz. Lee's Division were there, and 
after a severe conflict the enemy were compelled to withdraw. 
In this fight our subject received his first and only wound. 
He was faken to the house of a Mr. Sumner, who resided in 
the neighborhood, and suffered amputation of a leg. The 
kind family in which he was received, and skillful surgeons 
did all that ardent sympathy and science could suggest to 
restore him, but in vain. His agonized mother was written 
to, and soon reached the bedside of her stricken one. But a 
mother's tears and prayers and incessant watching and nursing 
were of no avail to arrest the hand of fate. On the 9th of 



WILLIAM //. EASLEY. l8i 

July death claimed our young patriot-hero in the nineteenth 
year of his age, and another noble martyr to the nozv lost 
cause joined the ranks of the shadowy host beyond " the 
river." 

The record is brief, indeed, but authentic; and for so short 
a life and so humble a sphere of action there are few more 
brilliant and none more honorable. As an example of earnest 
patriotism, youthful enthusiasm joined to a quiet and stubborn 
bravery, modesty, subordination, attention to duty, and patient 
endurance, the memory of Thomas Dudley deserves to be 
honored by all survivors of the Army of Northern Virginia, 
by all true soldiers everywhere, and will doubtless be cherished 
as one of her brightest jewels by the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, rich as she is in such mournful treasures. 

Hon. B. B. Douglas. 



V^ILLIAM H. EASLEY, 

OF HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " C," 3D VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

William H. Easley, the youngest son of Captain Thomas 
Easley, of Halifax County, Virginia, was born the i6t;h of 
April, 1832. The father was widely known and highly re- 
spected in his county, which he represented in the Virginia 
Legislature in the days when it was an honor to be elected 
to serve in her halls. Captain Thomas E. died in 1835, leaving 
a widow with six children, — three sons and three daughters. 
The mother, whose maiden name was Harriet Bailey, faith- 
fully discharged the duties devolving on her in training and 
educating her children. Her eldest son, Thomas Easley, was 
the first graduate at West Point of his Congressional district. 
" He fell, fighting most gallantly, at the head of his men," in 
the battle of Churubusco, the last engagement of the Mexican 



1 82 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

war. The following spring the body of Thomas E. was brought 
from its temporary resting-place in a foreign soil to be laid 
in the family burying-ground. The military funeral, which 
drew together a vast crowd, seemed a mockery of grief to the 
older members of the family, but the ardent boy, William, 
was thrilled with dreams of glory. When the time came for 
going to college, he earnestly begged to be allowed to go to 
West Point; but his mother, who blamed herself for the mili- 
tary education of the older son, would not consent. Finally, 
as a compromise, he proposed the Virginia Military Institute, 
assuring his mother, if war came, he would fight for his 
country, and it would be better as an officer than as a private 
soldier. 

He entered the Institute in January, 1853; remained until 
July, 1856, when he graduated. William was of a frank, 
genial nature, and from boyhood to manhood exercised a 
charm over his associates. He had fine abilities, and the best, 
most generous heart that ever beat. After leaving the Insti- 
tute, for a year or so he lived with his mother, attending to 
her farm: At this time his social disposition led him into 
such company and habits as made his friends very unhappy, 
but through the mercy of God he was led to see and repent 
of his folly. He made a profession of religion, and joined the 
Presbyterian Church, He bought a farm, and was living on 
it, respected and beloved by a large circle of friends, when 
the late unhappy war called him to other scenes. 

A volunteer company was raised in the neighborhood, and 
he was given command of it. This company, the " Black Wal- 
nut Light Dragoons," was composed of noble young men 
from the best families, who zvillingly gave up the comforts and 
luxuries of life to repel the invader. Wherj congratulated on 
having the command of such a company, he replied, " I am 
proud of my men ; no promotion would tempt me to leave 
them; but we will have a hard struggle, and when I think of 
what is before us, I wish they were mere soldiers, not friends 
and kinsmen'' Captain Easley went into camp early in May, 
1 861, and daily exercised them in such drills as would make 



WILLIAM H. EASLEY. 



183 



them more efficient in service. On the 24th of May the com- 
pany left Black Wahiut, and was marched into service in Rich- 
mond on the 29th, and assigned to duty in the Peninsula, near 
Yorktown. It was Co. " C," 3d Regiment Virginia Cavalry, 
at first commanded by Major Hood (afterwards major-general). 
When the regiment was filled, General Johnson was placed in 
command. This regiment did a good deal of picket and scout 
duty, being the only cavalry regiment on the Peninsula for 
some time. They also pushed the enemy in their retreat from 
the battle of Bethel. Captain Easley filled all the duties of 
his office till November, 1861, when he was taken sick at the 
Half-Way House. His brother-in-law, Dr. C, was there at 
the time, and persuaded him to accompany him on his return 
to Halifax, where his chances of a speedy recovery would 
be much greater than at the noisy station. But his disease 
baffled the skill of physicians and the tender nursing of loving 
hearts that gathered around his bedside. On the night of the 
loth of December, it became apparent that he must soon die. 
All night long his mind wandered, — most frequently he was 
in camp, giving orders to his men ; then he would fancy he 
was in action, and describe a bloody engagement. As morn- 
ing broke, his sister, who had watched and listened in agony 
to his wanderings, asked if he would not try to call his mind 
from such bloody scenes and fix them on Christ, who had died 
for him. He looked earnestly at her, and said, "I will try to 
pray, and you must pray for me." Then folding liis hands 
on his breast and closing his eyes, he remained awhile appa- 
rently in prayer. Looking around after this, and seeing his 
mother weeping at the foot of the bed, and his servant kneel- 
ing near, sobbing as if his heart would break, he asked his 
mother, and then the servant, if he was dying; and, as they 
did not reply, he turned to his sister and repeated the ques- 
tion, "Am I dying?" The two physicians in attendance told 
her to tell him the truth ; but one fearing she would not have 
nerve to speak the sad words, left to call the minister. His 
sister told him he was dying, but since Christ had died for 
sinners, none that trusted in Him need fear death. His face 



1 84 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

became calm, and he repeated, " Yea, though I walk through 
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, Thy 
rod and Thy staff they comfort me." Pausing a moment, he 
said, with a tone of awe, "Then I will soon be dead, dead?" 
His sister replied, " Dead to earth, alive to the glories of 
Heaven." " Yes, I will soon be Jiomc" pointing and looking 
upward. Then he repeated, " Glory to God in the highest, 
peace on earth, good will to men," with an expression so 
bright, that his mother, clasping her hands, repeated, " Glory ! 
glory!" The minister coming in, and not knowing what had 
passed, told him he must die. He said, "I know it; I had 
hoped to lead a useful life, but it's God's will; I'm resigned." 
He then asked the minister to pray for him, after which he 
requested to be left with his sister and servant. He was now 
so weak as to be able to speak only a few words connectedly, 
but he delivered a last message, for human love is strong 
even in death. Then he told his servant to hand him a 
shaving-glass from the mantel. It was strange the quiet look 
he gave, and the comment, " I look very natural." One of 
his company, who was on furlough and hearing of his ill- 
ness, called just then to see his captain. When asked if he 
wished to see Dick Adams, he replied, emphatically, " Yes, I 
wish to see him." And when the poor fellow came in, and, 
after shaking hands and telling his captain, with choking 
voice, he was sorry to find him so sick, would have shrunk 
back to hide his emotion, he said, " Adams, you must — tell 

me faVezvell. Tell all the — boys — farewell. Tell them if " 

his sister, to help his failing voice, said, "if I have been too 

strict " Looking in her face, he said, " Not that, — I zvasn't 

too strict. If I have — hurt their feelings — forgive me — remem- 
ber me. I remembered — them — to the last." 

As calmly as an infant going to sleep, in a few moments 
more his spirit passed away, the iith of December, 1861, as 
truly a sacrifice to the war as any who fell on the field of 
battle. 



EDWARD C. EDMONDS. 1 85 

EDWARD C. EDMONDS, 

OF FAUQUIER COUXTV, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, 38TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Edward Claxton Edmonds, son of Dr. John R. Edmonds, 
was born in Paris, Fauquier County, Virginia, on the 2 1st of 
January, 1835. His mother, Mrs. Helen Carter Edmonds, 
was one of the old Pittsylvania Carters. 

From early boyhood he gave marked evidence of high- 
toned character and well-balanced intellect. Yielding the 
strictest obedience to authority, possessing the highest regard 
for the truth for truth's sake, and having the faculty of inspir- 
ing implicit confidence in others, he early gave promise of 
useful manhood, which was fulfilled in an after-life, short in 
years, but long in the list of its well-performed labors. 

In September, 1854, young Edmonds entered the Virginia 
Military Institute as a cadet from Alexandria, in which city his 
family then resided. In his classes here he attained fair stand- 
ing, and as a cadet officer, during three years of his course, 
possessed the confidence of the Institute authorities, being in 
his first class-year captain of " B" Company, the second office 
in his class. On the 4th of July, 1858, he graduated in a class 
of nineteen, — a class small in number, but with perhaps the 
proudest record among the classes turned out by this noble 
institution. Eight of their number fell in ",The Cause," — a 
much larger proportion than from any other class. Every 
man of them was in the army, gaining distinction in the three 
arms of service, and holding offices varying from brigadier- 
general through all the grades downward. 

After leaving the Institute, Mr. Edmonds was appointed as- 
sistant in mathematics at a school in Staunton, and remained 
liere one year. He then married a Miss Tutwilcr, of Fluvanna 
County, Virginia, and moved to Danville, where, in connection 
with Major Jesse Jones, he established a military academy 
that was giving promise of eminent success, when the secession 



1 86 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of Virginia, and his consequent entry into the army, necessi- 
tated its close. When asked by his scholars as to his opinion 
of the storm gathering so angrily over the republic, he would 
always maintain that he sincerely regretted to see the grand 
structure reared by our forefathers under so many difficulties 
commencing to crumble so soon, and that the better policy 
was to fight for our rights /// tlie Union. When, however, 
Virginia did secede, he offered no word of condemnation of 
her course, but at once placed his life in her hands, to be used 
as seemed best for her honor and safety. Going to Richmond, 
he offered his services to the Governor, and was ordered to 
return to Danville and raise in that section a regiment 
of infantry. Acting under these instructions, he soon suc- 
ceeded in getting his complement of volunteers, and marched 
with them to Richmond, where the regiment was mustered 
into service as the 38th Virginia Infantry, and he was com- 
missioned its colonel. This regiment was assigned first to 
General Johnston's army, in the Valley of Virginia, and event- 
ually became a part of Armistead's Brigade, Pickett's Divi- 
sion, Longstreet's Corps. At the head of the gallant 38th, 
Colonel Edmonds did efficient service, displaying great gal- 
lantry and gaining special distinction at Manassas, Williams- 
burg, and around Richmond. Was severely wounded at 
Seven Pines, May 31, 1862. During the campaign of 1863 
?^ Colonel Edmonds commanded his brigade.? His military life 
in this campaign is that of Pickett's Division. In all their 
noble services he bore conspicuous part, until, in their grand 
charge on Gettysburg Heights, July 3, 1863, he fell at the 
head of his command. This charge of Pickett's Division, un- 
equaled in history for the grandeur of its bravery and cool- 
ness under the most terrific fire, perhaps, that the world has 
ever known, was the death-scene of many a noble Southerner. 
Seven colonels fell that day who had been comrades at the 
Virginia Military Institute, three of them room-mates, a noble 
band ; none nobler than he of whom we write. In the same 
charge General Armistead, up in the enemy's works, his hat 
on his sword, calling on his brigade to follow, fell, pierced by 



EDWARD C. EDMONDS. 1 8/ 

a bullet; and it is no common testimony to the soldierly worth 
of Colonel Edmonds that it was the desire of the brigade that 
he should succeed to the command, for they did not know of 
his death yet. In fact, a petition, signed by every officer pres- 
ent in the brigade, was forwarded to the Secretary of War, 
asking that Colonel Edmonds be appointed their brigadier as 
soon as exchanged ; for a report had reached them that he was 
still alive, though a prisoner of war. 

Six weeks after, when the 38th found that their gallant col- 
onel had been killed, a meeting of the officers was called, to 
pass resolutions on his death. With an extract from these 
resolutions, we close this sketch : 

" In the qualities of a good commander in camp, uniform 
kindness of disposition, rigid impartiality, sound discretion in 
the administration of discipline, and an anxious and unceasing 
attention to the welfare and wants of his men, distinguished 
him. As a good leader in action, keen penetration, correct 
views of the matter in hand, a courage and self-possession that 
resembled ignorance of danger, gave him absolute control of 
his men. In the virtues of his private life, sterling integrity, 
unvarying politeness, ardent interest (without ambition) in all 
that affected society, a keen relish for the society- of a few 
chosen friends, together with an unaffected modesty and a 
childlike simplicity, were specially noticeable. Few colonels 
were more gifted than he whom we delighted to honor and 
love to remember." 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



HOV^ELL CHASTAIN EDMONDSON, 

OF HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 1ST RICHMOND HOWITZERS. 

Howell Chastain Edmondson, the sixth son of Richard 
and Susan H. Edmondson, was born on the 25th of January, 
1845, in the county of Halifax, Virf:^inia, and died at Chimbo- 
razo Hospital, Richmond, on the 24th of June, 1864, of typhoid 
fever. 

While but a boy Howell Chastain was possessed of quali- 
ties which, if his life had been spared, would have developed 
themselves into a noble Christian manhood. There was some- 
thing so pure in his nature, so tender and considerate in his 
disposition, and withal so quietly brave in his bearing among 
men, that all who knew him were unconsciously forced to 
respect and love him. There are many who can remember 
his sweet-toned voice in the choir of old St. John's Church, 
and when he left us, in 1859, to enter the Virginia Military 
Institute, all who were intimate with him felt sure that his 
devoted and pious mother had instilled such Christian princi- 
ples into his young heart as would enable him to be true and 
manly and moral amid all the new temptations of college 
life, — principles which took deeper root and grew stronger in 
the face of those temptations, and which finally led him to 
embrace the Christian religion, and unreservedly to give his 
heart to the loving Saviour. 

He remained at the Virginia Military Institute until it was 
broken up by the war, — during which time he was once in 
active service with the Cadet Corps. Immediately after he 
left the Institute, in 1862, he joined the ist Company of How- 
itzers, and remained in service until his death, never returning 
alive to his home in Halifax County. 

Although but a youth, — only seventeen years of age when 
he entered the army, — he bore the hardships and privations 
of war without a murmur or a word of regret. He marched 



HOWELL CHASTAIN EDMONDSON. 189 

abreast with the strongest and the hardiest soldier, and his 
conduct in battle was that of a heroic and Christian patriot. 
One incident in his career as a soldier is mentioned by one 
of his comrades, which the writer of this brief memoir cannot 
omit, as it exhibits both his coolness and his reliance upon 
God in the midst of danger. In one of the battles around 
Richmond, while the enemy was making a fierce assault, a 
comrade turned to Howell and asked him how he felt. 
Although under fire at the time, he calmly replied, " I fear no 
evil, whatever, for I have long made my peace with God." 

In order to show in what esteem he was held by his fellow- 
soldiers, we quote the following extract from the resolutions 
passed by the ist Company of Richmond Howitzers : "In the 
death of this, our brother, though tender in years, the com- 
pany has lost a pious and exemplary member, and the country 
a brave and patriotic defender. Stimulated by the desire to 
share the dangers with his brothers in the field, he came 
without any compulsion from his quiet studies at the Virginia 
Military Institute, and enlisted in his country's service. But, 
alas! the unrelenting hand of death has snatched him from 
existence; yet will his memory live, and the incidents con- 
nected with our long and pleasant association with him be 
the most pleasing recollections of after-life." 

Yes, "his memory will live," for he was of a most loving 
and affectionate disposition. The youngest scion of his father's 
house, he was the pride and pet of his family, and all words 
are idle to convey an adequate expression of the grief which 
his untimely death caused in his bereft household. But, 
though gentle and affectionate, he was no less brave and 
ardent in the defense of his country. And thus it is ever, — 

" The bravest are the tenderest. 
The lovin" are the daring." 



igo INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



JOHN T. ELLIS, 

OF AMHERST COUNTY, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, I9TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY, 

John Thomas Ellis was born at Red Hill, in the county 
of Amherst, Virginia, March i6, 1827. His father was Richard 
Shelton Ellis, son of Josiah Ellis, who belonged to a family 
which has been in Virginia since the year 1683. His mother 
was Emily Henrietta Douglass, daughter of James Douglass, 
whose family for several generations had resided in the county 
of Westmoreland, Virginia. He entered the Virginia Military 
Institute, as a State cadet, August 25, 1845 \ was promoted 
cadet captain of Co. " B," 1847-8; and graduated eighth in a 
class of twenty-four, July 4, 1848. Among his classmates 
were Alfred L. Rives, Robert E. Rodes, John R. Jones, and 
Norborne Berkeley. In compliance with the law governing 
the appointment of State cadets, he taught school for two 
years after his graduation, in the county of Bedford, where he 
made warm friends, and left an excellent reputation. Settling 
then as a merchant at Amherst Court-House, he married Mil- 
dred Irving Garland, a daughter of Samuel Meredith Garland, 
and a great-granddaughter of Colonel Samuel Meredith, who 
married the sister of Patrick Henry, of whom the Rev. Dr. 
Archibald Alexander said, " Mrs. Meredith was not only a 
woman of unfeigned piety, but was, in my judgment, as elo- 
quent as her brother; nor have I ever met with a lady who 
equaled her in powers of conversation." During his resi- 
dence at the Court-House, while pursuing his vocation pru- 
dently and honorably, John Thomas Ellis was appointed by 
the court a commissioner in chancery, and also commis- 
sioner of the revenue for the district of Amherst ; the duties 
of which offices he performed with integrity, faithfulness, and 
fairness. 

Immediately after the secession of Virginia, a company of 



JOHN T. ELLIS. I9I 

the choicest young men in the county enrolled themselves, 
with the view to volunteer their services, and selected him for 
the captaincy. He was elected not only by their own votes, 
but also, as may be said, by the wishes and preferences of 
their fathers, who urged him to assume the care and control 
of these young men during the perils of war. Unrestrained 
by the great sacrifice to his business prospects which it in- 
volved, and by the most interesting domestic considerations, 
lie accepted their offer, pressed forward the organization and 
equipment of his company, and in a short time reported for 
duty. The company, upon being mustered in, was assigned 
to the 19th Virginia Regiment, commanded by Colonel, after- 
ward General, Philip St. George Cocke. This regiment con- 
sisted of seven companies from Albemarle, two from Amherst, 
and one from Nelson, and comprised perhaps as fine material 
as any other in the service. 

Captain Ellis soon became known for the strict discipline 
he enforced, his own soldierly bearing, and his prompt and 
efficient performance of every military duty. His company 
became in some respects a model company, — so much so 
that there was a talk of its being appointed " General Lee's 
body-guard." With its captain it bore a worthy part in the 
first battle of Manassas. 

On the reorganization of the army, in the spring of 1862, 
he was unanimously re-elected captain, and in the choice of 
regimental officers was elected major; Henry Gantt being 
lieutenant-colonel, and John B. Strange, colonel. His regi- 
ment participated in the operations on the Peninsula under 
General Joseph PL. Johnston ; in the fight near Williamsburg 
it bore a conspicuous part; and it was almost the last of the 
rear-guard when the Confederate forces fell back to the lines 
on the Chickahominy. His conduct at Williamsburg and on 
the retreat attracted the attention of his division commander, 
Major-General George E. Pickett, who afterwards spoke of 
him as " one ivlio could ahvays be relied 7tpon." 

At the battle of Gaines's Mill he was severely wounded in 
the thigh, which detained him from his regiment until just 



192 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



previous to the battle of Sharpsburg, His colonel having 
fallen in that campaign, he was promoted lieutenant-colonel ; 
and the lieutenant-colonel, who had now become colonel, 
being disabled by wounds, the command of the regiment 
during much of its remaining service devolved upon him. 
From that time to the day of his death he was ever at his 
post, — manifesting himself the gallant officer and admirable 
gentleman. At the battle of Gettysburg, in the memorable 
attack of Pickett's Division on Cemetery Hill, he was struck 
by a cannon-ball on the head, was carried to the rear, and 
there lingered, in a state of unconsciousness, several hours, 
when death ensued. All that is mortal of him lies buried in 
Hollywood Cemetery, surrounded by the remains of numerous 
comrades who fell on the same eventful day. '■ 

Lieutenant-Colonel Ellis was a man of commanding height 
and fine muscular development; of a grave exterior, but an 
affectionate disposition ; of singular probity, sound judgment, 
and great dignity of character as well as deportment. He 
soon won the confidence and respect even of a casual ac- 
quaintance. He had to an unusual degree the faculty of com- 
manding men, growing out of mingled kindness and the most 
rigid impartiality. The mainspring of his actions through life 
was a high sense of duty, from which he never swerved, what- 
ever the obstacles.* It is only just to say of one possessed of 
such qualities, that Virginia lost no truer soldier than when, 
on the 3d of July, 1863, Lieutenant-Colonel John Thomas 
Ellis yielded up his life on the field of battle in the flower of 
his age. 

* Several years previofls to the war he became, by profession, a meml)er of tlie 
Episcopal Church. From that time his example was one of steady, unremitting, 
though humble, piety. 



EDWARD L. FANT, JR.— JOHN FLETCHER. 193 
EDWARD L. FANT, Jr., 

OF WARRENTON, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT, 8tH VIRGINIA INFANTRY, 

Edward L. Fant, Jr., son of E. L. Fant, Esq., was born 
in Warrenton, Virginia, in 1835. Appointed a cadet in the 
Military Institute at Lexington in 1852, he reported for duty 
during the summer of that year, but resigned after a short stay 
at the Virginia Military Institute. At the outbreak of hostili- 
ties, Mr. Fant entered the service as a lieutenant in the 8th 
Virginia Infantry, and served as such until killed in one of the 
seven days' fights around Richmond, in June, 1862. At the 
time of his death Lieutenant Fant was leading his company 
into conflict. 



JOHN FLETCHER, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, ASHBY'S CAVALRY. 

John Fletcher, son of Joshua Fletcher, of Uppcrville, 
Fauquier County, Virginia, was born in 1836. In August, 
1856, he entered the Military Institute, where he remained 
during one session. Returning then to his native county, he 
was engaged as a farmer until the war began; While pursu- 
ing his quiet avocation he became a member of Turner 
Ashby's cavalry company, and was elected third lieutenant. 
After the John Brown raid, in 1859, he was promoted second 
lieutenant, and on Ashby's promotion at the beginning- of 
hostilities he rose to the captaincy of the company. 

Captain Fletcher was killed at the head of his company 
in a gallant charge ui)on the enemy posted at Buckton Sta- 
tion, on the 23d of May, 1862. He was first shot in the arm. 

'3 



194 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



His horse carried him, disabled, into the ranks of the enemy, 
where he was shot down. At the time of his death he was in 
his twenty-seventh year, a young man of fine appearance and 
address, and of excellent understanding. Possessed of strik- 
ing moral and physical courage, had he lived he must have 
risen to distinction as a soldier. His loss was deeply lamented 
by the cavalry, and more especially by his generals, Ashby 
and Jackson, who reposed great confidence in him. In his 
own neighborhood no young man stood higher in popular 
estimation as a man of sense and character. Kind and polite, 
he was loved as well as respected. Few of the brilliant corps 
the Institute sent into the field never to return deserve to take 
precedence of him in all the admirable qualities which consti- 
tute a soldier and a gentleman. 



WILLIAM A. FORBES, 

OF CLARKSVILLE, TENNESSEE ; COLONEL, I4TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY. 

William Archibald Forbes was the youngest son of John 
and Elizabeth Forbes, of Richmond, Virginia. His father was 
a native of Scotland, but came to Virginia in early life, and was 
a fine scholar, and a lawyer of some reputation. His mother 
was a daughter of Archibald Bryce, Esq., of Greenfield, Gooch- 
land County, Virginia. 

William was born in the city of Richmond, May 31, 1824. 
He was a high-spirited boy, and his parents found it necessary 
in his earliest years to exercise great firmness in their man- 
agement of him. So judicious, however, were they in the 
exercise of parental authority, that they found no difficulty in 
training him so that he loved, reverenced, and obeyed them 
implicitly. As a boy, he showed a love for reading, but not 
being strong was unable to make great progress in his studies, 
yet he had some proficiency in English branches, Latin, and 



WILLIAM A. FORBES. 



195 



French when he entered the school of Mr. Hawkeswortli in 
liis tenth year. At this school he remained during two ses- 
sions, during the first of which his father died. Ilis mother's 
limited means necessitated his withdrawal at the close of the 
session in July, 1 83 5, and he was under her instruction until 
his fourteenth year, when she was induced to place him in 
business with a firm engaged in the manufacture of tobacco. 
During the year in which he was thus engaged every cent of 
his earnings were given to his mother to aid in her support. 

When the Virginia Military Institute was established, Mrs. 
Forbes gladly availed herself of the provision made by the 
State for those whose means were not sufficient to secure a 
liberal education, and applied to the board for an appointment 
for her son as a State cadet. The application was granted, 
and on the nth of November, 1839, he matriculated as a 
cadet, and graduated in the first class turned out by the Insti- 
tute in July, 1842. During his first year Cadet Forbes was 
not a good student, but in the second class he acquired good 
habits of study, which he retained through life, contributing 
eminently to his great success as a professor and college 
president. 

In October, 1842, Mr. Forbes entered upon the duties of 
assistant in the school of Mr. Thomas Hanson, in Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia. During the session in which he resided in 
Fredericksburg he made a profession of religion and joined 
the Presbyterian Church. 

From October, 1843, until July, 1845, he w-as engaged in 
teaching in the Richmond Academy, of which Mr. Burke was 
principal. His leisure hours at this time were devoted to 
arduous study; he would rarely visit, but taking a walk every 
afternoon, would return in time to join his family at the tea- 
table. He was very cheerful and happy, and the hour he 
ga\'e to his family after the evening meal was the most de- 
lightful part of the day to them. 

He was made Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the 
Virginia Military Institute in 1845, and performed his duties 
as such until July, 1847. His health not being good at this 



196 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

time, he was advised to become a member of an engineering 
corps, which he did with satisfactory results, the active life 
proving of great benefit to him. In the autumn of this year, 
upon the recommendation of the superintendent of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, he was appointed Professor of Mathe- 
matics and Tactics in Georgetown Military Academy, in 
Kentucky, and entered upon his duties January i, 1848. In 
September, 1848, he married his cousin. Miss Sarah L. C. B. 
Bryce, who died in July, 185 1, and their only child died 
before its mother's death. 

The life of Prof Forbes from this period until he came to 
Virginia as a regimental commander, in 1861, we give in the 
words of his friend, General W. A. Quarles: 

" In the year 1849, when what is now known as Stewart 
College was considered the best and most flourishing institu- 
tion of learning in the State of Tennessee, W. A. Forbes was 
elected to fill the chair of mathematics. 

"When he reached Clarksville, where the college was 
located, he was a total stranger; but before the expiration of 
a twelvemonth he could count among his staunchest sup- 
porters and friends the leading citizens of that eminently 
moral and intelligent community. This college, like all 
others without a special endowment, was greatly dependent 
for its success upon the energy and enterprise of its faculty; 
and it is no slur on his worthy colleagues to say that at the 
expiration of two years Prof Forbes was regarded by all of 
them as its main-stay, prop, and support. The trustees soon 
recognized this to be the case, and as an expression of their 
appreciation and confidence made him the President of the 
Faculty. 

"With what energy and success he discharged his duties all 
who lived here can attest, and the high positions held by the 
graduates of the school in this State both during and since 
the war illustrate more strongly than language can tell it his 
success as a teacher. His great energy of character and 
practical good sense was further exemplified in his connec- 
tion with all the leading business interests of the county ; in 



WILLIAM A. FORBES. 



197 



fact, in every enterprise that looked to the advancement of 
the interest of the people with whom he had cast his lot he 
felt and took the deepest interest, until none was undertaken 
without his co-operation, advice, or sanction. 

"In the year 1853 President Forbes was married to Mrs. 
Garland, of Clarksville (widow of that distinguished orator 
and jurist, Hudson Garland, also a son of Virginia), a lady so 
distinguished for every virtue and accomplishment, so univer- 
sally respected and beloved, that there was a personal feeling 
of regret that there should be a monopoly of the affections of 
one who had been so long the pride and pet of the social circle 
of her native town. 

" President Forbes was, as may be readily surmised, suc- 
cessful in business, and in 1861 was living in the suburbs of 
Clarksville in a delightful and elegant home, his accomplished 
wife and manly boy (the fruit of his last marriage) both 
adorning and brightening his life, when the cloud of war fell 
upon the whole land. 

" President Forbes unhesitatingly, and as a matter of course, 
embraced the cause of the South. It was known that he was 
a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, and at once all 
eyes were turned to him to take the lead in military move- 
ments. His first impulse was to go to Virginia and offer his 
sword to his mother State; but ever ready to follow the line 
of usefulness, he felt that in the then ignorance of military 
matters in Tennessee his duty was to stay. 

" The State of Tennessee halted some time. before determin- 
ing to unite her destinies with the Confederate States. Many 
of her best men thought it the wisest to wait until the other 
border Southern States would go with her, and in the mean 
while to organize and equip for the conflict. In pursuance of 
this view, the Legislature authorized the enlisting, equipping, 
and disciplining a force of twenty-five thousand men, to be 
known as the ' Provisional Army of Tennessee.' 

" Governor Harris, with his usual promptitude and energy, 
organized his staff, established camps of instruction, and the 
work was speedily completed. President P^okbes's services he 



198 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



found absolutely indispensable ; and though at an early day he 
had been elected colonel of the glorious old 14th, so greatly 
was his skill and knowledge in demand, that it was rarely the 
case he could be present with his regiment while undergoing 
that most important transition stage from the citizen to the 
soldier; but by an energy of action almost passing credence 
he managed to most thoroughly drill and discipline his own 
regiment, and almost all the other regiments of the Provi- 
sional Army of Tennessee. The writer of this communica- 
tion remembers Colonel Forbes's perplexity when he had just 
reached the camp of his regiment, and was congratulating 
himself that he could now remain with them and supply all 
deficiencies, and a succession of telegrams came, — the first 
ordering him to Memphis, to aid Generals Polk and Pillow, 
another, to Camp Trausdale, where Zollicoffer was in com- 
mand, and said he could not get along without him, then a 
peremptory order from Governor Harris, the commander-in- 
chief, that he should repair at once to Nashville, to look after 
the whole of the artillery army of the service. 

"That he was the father of the Provisional Army of Tennes- 
see all who remember the history of the times will admit, and 
the brilliant service of these regiments fully attest and proudly 
pronounce his great ability as a military man. As an organ- 
izer and disciplinarian Colonel Forbes had no superior; as a 
commander in the field, he who has the commendation of 
Stonewall Jackson needs no eulogy from my pen. That he 
had the confidence of this matchless Christian hero and warrior 
the last records of the lost cause would show, and but for his 
untimely death, in the second Manassas fight, his name would 
have illustrated a broader though not a more perfect page of 
its history. Colonel Forbes was ordered with his regiment 
(the 14th Tennessee Infantry) to Virginia soon after the first 
Manassas, and never returned to Tennessee. With the records 
of the grand old Army of Northern Virginia is the rest of his 
military life, which I leave for others who served with him to 
record. In Tennessee his name is a household word. To his 
instructions not only her private soldiers, but such men as 



WILLIAM A. FORBES. 1 99 

Zollicoffer, Rains, Robb, Harrell, McCombs, and a host of 
others owe whatever of efficiency they attained or of honors 
they won. He belongs, therefore, not alone to Virginia ; and 
when the day shall come, as come it will, for monuments to our 
dead, Tennessee will vie with his mother State in doing him 
honor. I have thus complied with your request to give you 
a brief outline of Colonel Forbes's life in Tennessee. Much 
more might be written, but the space you limit me to will 
admit of no more. When the biographies of the soldiers of 
Tennessee shall be written, the details of his life, rich in ex- 
emplary illustrations of the soldier and the gentleman, will be 
found on its pages. 

" I passed by his home but a few hours ago. The shrubs 
that he planted have grown to be trees. The young vines 
have covered his bowers with their broad foliage and bright- 
ened them with their purple fruit. 

" ' But oh for the touch of a vanished hand and the sound of a voice that is still !' 

" His w^ife (still his widow) lives there with his only child and 
son, named for him. She exemplifies in a life of modest re- 
tirement and usefulness the nobler characteristics of her sex, 
while the son. with all the softer graces of his mother's char- 
acter blends the sterner virtues of his father's life," 

About the 12th of July, 1861, Colonel Forbes was ordered 
to Virginia, but on reaching Knoxville was ordered to report 
to Brigadier-General S. R. Anderson, commanding the ist 
Brigade of the Provisional Army of Tennessee. General An- 
derson found it necessary to deploy his brigade from Knox- 
ville to Bristol, to protect the railroad between those points, 
and Colonel Forbes was ordered to Johnsonville. He was 
very anxious to move immediately to Virginia, but General 
Anderson deemed it best to remain and protect the railroad, 
at least until all the troops from the South had passed through 
East Tennessee. After a week or ten days his command was 
ordered to Lynchburg, but before they arrived in Virginia the 
first battle of Manassas had been fought. Colonel Forbes 
was greatly disappointed that he had not been permitted to be 



200 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

among the first who repelled the enemy from his native State. 
After a {qv^ days at Lynchburg, General S. R. Anderson's 
Brigade, composed of the ist Tennessee, Colonel Manney, 
7th Tennessee, Colonel Hatten, and 14th Tennessee, Colonel 
Forbes, was ordered to West Virginia, and reported to General 
R. E. Lee, in Pocahontas County. There they remained in camp 
for several weeks, and Colonel Forbes was very active in drill- 
ing and disciplining his command. About the loth of Septem- 
ber, 1861, Generals Anderson and Loring moved simultane- 
ously on Croutz and Cheat Mountain fortifications ; General 
Anderson to take possession of the turnpike in rear of Cheat 
Mountain, and cut the line of communication between these 
two strongly fortified positions. In this movement General 
Loring was successful at all points in getting the positions as- 
signed, but General Lee concluded not to attack these strong 
points, as it would involve so great a loss of life. General 
Loring was accordingly ordered to fall back to Greenbrier 
River, near Huntersville. Colonel Forbes and General Donald- 
son were detached from the command to hold this responsible 
position, while General Lee moved with the remainder to the 
support of Generals Wise and Floyd. General Rosecrans 
finding himself confronted by Lee and Loring, withdrew his 
army. Shortly after, the command was ordered to join Jack- 
son in the Valley, and with him suffered all the privations, 
fatigue, cold and wet of the winter campaign of 1862, the 
severest of the war. Throughout this campaign Colonel 
Forbes was always at his post, sharing the hardships of his 
men, never taking a meal nor lodging in a house during the 
whole time. 

After returning to Winchester, General Loring's Division 
was disbanded, and Colonel Forbes was ordered to report to 
General Holmes, at Fredericksburg. Here the brigade to 
which the 14th Tennessee was attached was reorganized, and 
sent to Yorktown to support General Magruder. When the 
army was reorganized in April, Colonel Forbes was unani- 
mou/sly re-elected by his regiment. 

On the retreat from Yorktown, the enemy landed a large 



WILLIAM A. FORBES. 20I 

force at the White House, on Pamunkey River, and opened 
fire, at short range, on Colonel Forbes's regiment, as he was 
moving to join General Hood. The Colonel, ever quick to 
decide and act, charged with one-half of his regiment on the 
enemy's flank just as General Hood charged. Thrown into 
confusion by this double attack, their lines broke, and a rapid 
retreat was made to their gunboats. On the 24th of May the 
enemy, in considerable force, advanced on the Nine-Mile 
Road, where Colonel Forbes was on picket duty, but he, with 
his gallant regiment and Captain Braxton's artillery, repulsed 
them several times, inflicting severe loss upon them, with but 
little to his own forces. 

At the battle of Seven Pines, the Tennessee Brigade, com- 
manded by General Hatten (General Anderson having re- 
signed on account of bad health), was attached to General G. 
W. Smith's Division. This division was not engaged until 
late in the afternoon, and at dark ceased attempting to drive 
the enemy farther. General Smith finding that they were 
massed in heavy force in front. Colonel Forbes had moved 
in his regiment as coolly as if on parade-ground, and when the 
order was given to cease advancing, he remained in position 
long enough to remove the wounded, and then retreated in 
good order. In this engagement the loss to the 14th Tennes- 
see was very heavy. Here, too, the gallant Hatten fell. 

After this battle the brigade was transferred to A. P. Hill's 
Division. Wounded slightly at Mechanicsville, and at Cold 
Harbor Colonel Forbes received such a severe wound that he 
was forced to go to the hospital for some days, and was thus 
prevented from being with his regiment at Fraser's Farm and 
Malvern Hill, where it fought gallantly. Soon after the latter 
battle he resumed his command. 

During the progress of these battles around Richmond, in 
fact, the day before he received his wound at Cold Harbor, 
Colonel Forbes wrote to his sisters in Richmond that by the 
blessing of God he had been spared through another battle, 
and at the same time he sent them one hundred dollars to- 
pay their taxes, which he had done in the June of every year, 



202 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

from the time when he could spare it from his limited income. 
A touching incident, characteristic of the man, that amidst 
the turmoil and danger of battle he was thoughtful of duties 
which most men forget under like circumstances. 

In the battle of Cedar Run, August 9, 1862, the 14th Ten- 
nessee took part, losing, among others, its brave lieutenant- 
colonel, George A. Harrell. At the second battle of Manas- 
sas, August 28, 29, and 30, Colonel Forbes evinced great 
skill and bravery, acting as if he foresaw that this was the last 
tribute he could pay to liberty, for here he sealed his devotion 
to the cause now lost, with his blood. He fell where a soldier 
would wish to die, — in the forefront of battle, with his face to 
the foe. His body, uncoffined, was buried where he fell, and 
there rested until 1866, when it was moved to Shockoe Hill 
Cemetery, in Richmond, being buried there, on the 10th of 
July, with military honors by a detachment of the Richmond 
Grays, under the command of Colonel W. M. Elliott, a friend, 
college-mate, and comrade of Colonel Forbes. 

Of the many noble sons of Virginia who lost their lives 
commanding troops from other States, no one had done more 
for his adopted State than Colonel Forbes. As an educator 
of the sons of Tennessee, as the organizer of her untrained 
forces, as the commander of her most noble regiment, whose 
blood stained every field in their colonel's battle-scarred State, 
he did her service and gained her honor of which she will be 
never forgetful. 



CHARLES EDWARD FORD. 203 



CHARLES EDWARD FORD, 

OF FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA; 1ST LIEUTENANT, STUART'S HORSE 

ARTILLERY. 

It may be possible, in some instances, to recount in a com- 
paratively limited space the personal merits and public ser- 
vices of a person who greatly distinguished not only himself, 
but the age in which he lived, and still render ample justice 
to his character and memory; whilst, in other cases, it may 
prove very difficult, if not absolutely impossible, even in an 
extended and elaborate notice, to render even approximate 
justice to one who had barely attained his majority. Of the 
latter the present is a case in point. 

In the stirring and trying times which marked the struggle 
for Southern independence, no man's merits or services were 
reckoned by his length of years, nor based upon the standing 
of his family, either socially or politically. In that giant 
struggle, as is well known, the youth of the South played a 
conspicuous and an honorable part ; and it can be said truly, 
and without the least disparagement to the just claims of any 
other person or persons, that not one of all the many "worthy 
sons of noble sires" who so cheerfully offered their services, 
and their lives as well, to the sacred (though lost) cause ac- 
quitted himself with higher honor, or in a manner more grati- 
fying to his friends or more acceptable to his superior officers, 
than did the subject of this brief notice — Charles Edward 
Ford. 

Lieutenant Ford was the eldest son of Edward R. and 
Julia F. Ford, and was born at Fairfax Court-House, Virginia, 
on the 23d day of November, 1841. At a very early age he 
gave evidence of possessing a remarkably active and acute 
mind, eminently susceptible of a very high degree of culture 
and development. It was quick and vigorous, clear and ana- 
lytical, enabling him to grasp and comprehend all the branches 
taught in the several schools and institutions he attended, with 



204 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



such wonderful facility and thoroughness as to attract as well 
the attention as the admiration of his respective teachers. 
Until the attainment of his eighteenth year he attended such 
schools as his native village afforded, the best and most ad- 
vanced of which was a private one taught by an Episcopal 
clergyman, the Rev. R. T. Brown, — a talented and highly- 
cultivated gentleman ; and it was the remarkable proficiency 
and the facile ability of his pupil to master any and all of the 
higher and more abstruse branches of learning (as shown 
whilst pursuing his studies under his immediate supervision), 
that induced that accomplished scholar (Rev. R. T. Brown) 
to suggest to and urge his pupil's parents to send him to 
the Military Institute — then, as now, the pride of Virginia — 
at Lexington. Accordingly, on the 4th of August, 1859, 
Charles Edward Ford entered the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute as a cadet. 

Owing to the unfortunate absence of all data which would 
conclusively and officially attest the exalted and honorable 
standing to which he attained during his brief stay in that 
noble institution, it must suffice to say that, in four classes of 
which he was a member during his first year, he ranked j^r,?/ 
in tivo, and tliird and fiftJi, respectively, in the remaining two ! 

Immediately upon the commencement of active hostilities 
between the North and South, a large number of the more 
capable cadets at the Military Institute were selected as drill- 
masters, and sent to different points in the State (Virginia) and 
throughout the South, for the special purpose of preparing 
raw recruits for active service in the field; and under this dis- 
position of cadets the subject of this sketch was assigned to 
the important post of Richmond, Virginia, in May, 1861. It 
would be superfluous to undertake to prove that he dis- 
charged the onerous and responsible duties then and there 
imposed upon him to the entire satisfaction of his superiors 
in command. Suffice it to say, that by his firm yet gentle and 
affable deportment he won the confidence and respect of all 
the recruits placed from time to time under his charge and 
discipline. 



CHARLES EDWARD FORD. 



205 



On the occasion of the first advance of the Federal army 
(under General McDowell) into Virginia, Cadet Ford was at 
home (at Fairfax Court-House) making a brief visit ; but 
when, on the morning of the 17th of July, 1861, the Confed- 
erate forces, under General G. T. Beauregard, commenced 
falling back to Bull Run, he asked permission, which was 
cheerfully given, to join Captain Richardson's company of 
Colonel (afterwards General) Kershaw's 2d South Carolina 
(Infantry) Regiment, and he gallantly participated with it in 
that memorable battle of the 21st of July, 1861 (known as 
the "first Manassas"), which resulted so disastrously to the 
Northern arms. As an incident of this fight, it may be men- 
tioned that our young friend's (Cadet Ford) musket was shat- 
tered and thus rendered useless early in the day by a ball 
from an enemy's gun, but he instantly remedied the loss by 
seizing a weapon that had just fallen from the hands of a mor- 
tally wounded comrade at his side, and bravely kept his place 
in the ranks until the close of that hotly-contested battle. 

Immediately upon the organization of that branch or arm 
of active military service commonly known as "Stuart's Horse 
Artillery" (which proved so effective throughout the war), our 
young friend was assigned to duty with it, in a capacity equally 
honorable and responsible. Here, again, the writer of this 
sketch finds himself unable, owing to the entire absence of 
official data, to render anything like adequate justice to the 
character and memory of the gallant and noble youth who, 
soon thereafter, was honored with a commission as second 
lieutenant of artillery. It will suffice to say, however, that by 
his prompt and faithful performance of every duty which in 
any way devolved upon him he won confidence and esteem of 
all his subordinates, and likewise received the special praise of 
his superiors in command. That brilliant and accomplished sol- 
dier and gentleman, the lamented General J. E. B. Stuart, held 
Lieutenant Ford in high esteem, and frequently complimented 
him by commendatory mention of his services. The gallant 
general had watched with much pride and soldierly interest 
the rapid development of those manly and gifted traits which 



2o6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

SO prominently distinguished his youthful friend, — hence the 
prediction, on his part, that "the highest and proudest dis- 
tinction that can possibly be attained by any military man in 
this country is in reserve for Lieutenant Ford, if, happily, his 
life shall be spared." 

On the loth of November, 1863, that wise and sagacious 
statesman. Governor John Letcher, " from special trust and 
confidence reposed in his fidelity, courage, and good con- 
duct," issued to our young friend (then a second lieutenant) a 
commission as "first lieutenant of artillery in the Provisional 
Army of the State of Virginia, to rank as such from the 
15th of February, 1863." This was a high and well-deserved 
honor, creditable alike to the official head of the State and to 
the youthful recipient (who had just reached his twenty-second 
year) ; and most efficiently and worthily did he discharge the 
arduous duties which appertained to this responsible position. 
From his earliest youth he had adopted the maxim that 
" whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well," and 
he religiously acted it out in every station and under all 
circumstances. 

The record, subsequently, of Lieutenant Ford is part and 
parcel of the brilliant record of the Army of Northern Vir- 
ginia, around which will ever cluster, and brighten as years 
go by, the grandest and proudest memories of a grateful 
people for the matchless skill, heroic endurance, sublime pa- 
triotism, and unequaled achievements exhibited and per- 
formed by that grand army, under its noble and immortal 
leader, during the four years of its eventful existence. The 
division to which our young hero's battery was attached was 
always at "the front," hence he participated in all, or nearly 
all, the many hotly-contested conflicts in which that army 
was engaged, up to the 25th of May, 1864. On the evening 
of that day, at Hanover Court-House, Virginia, near the close 
of a severe battle, and whilst gallantly protecting the men of 
his battery, who were hurriedly limbering up. Lieutenant Ford 
received a Minie-ball through his forehead, and fell, mortally 
wounded, from his horse. He died without a struggle within 



CHARLES EDWARD FORD. 



207 



tliirty minutes after receiving' the fatal wound, in the twenty- 
third year of his age.' His remains were carried to Richmond 
by sad and stricken comrades and friends, and interred in 
Hollywood Cemetery, — the Rev. T. G. Dashiell, of St. James's 
(Episcopal) Church of that city, officiating on the mournful 
occasion. 

Thus passed away, in the early morning of his life, one of 
Virginia's noblest, most talented, and promising sons. Ten- 
derly and carefully reared, surrounded with all the accessories 
that could make life desirable; with the wise precepts and 
bright examples of loving and pious parents, and the sweet 
companionship of pure and accomplished sisters and affec- 
tionate brothers, his youth passed as pleasantly and as happily 
as heart could desire ; and by his every word and act he gave 
ample evidence that he fully appreciated not only the material 
benefits so lavishly and lovingly provided for him, but also 
those sweeter and holier blessings which ever centred in and 
around his truly happy and refined home. Alas ! that once 
happy Jionie — that charmed circle, wherein peace and happi- 
ness and love were wont to dwell — has been invaded, and its 
fondest and most cherished idols shattered and taken hence 
by the cruel and relentless hand of Death ! The revered 
father and an idolized sister have since followed the noble 
son and chivalric brother to "that bourne whence no traveller 
returns," — leaving, truly, a stricken household, and a large 
circle of sorrowing relatives. 

HiHAM Brower. 



2o8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



PHILIP F. FRAZER, 

OF GREENBRIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 27TH VIR- 
GINIA INFANTRY. 

Philip Fouke Frazer was born in Lewisburg, Greenbrier 
County, Virginia, on the 22d of December, 1844, the youngest 
son of James A. and Sophia Frazer. In early childhood his 
gentleness of manner, his brightness and intelligence, rendered 
him a favorite with all who knew him. He was as modest and 
gentle as a girl, and yet possessed all those manly qualities 
which later in life, though still at an early age, made him the 
gallant officer and devoted patriot. 

His early education was received at a girls' school in 
Lewisburg; here, when he reached the age at which boys 
were excluded from the school, so refined and gentle was he 
that his teacher said he should remain her scholar so long as 
he might choose to attend her school. 

He was appointed a cadet of the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute in i860, and reported for duty on the 19th of July of that 
year. He soon attracted the attention of his professors by his 
industry and brightness, and won the hearts of his comrades 
by his open, generous disposition and manly traits of char- 
acter. In April, 1861, the corps of cadets was ordered to 
Richmond, and proceeded thither under the command of 
General Jackson, to assist in drilling and disciplining the raw 
troops which were being concentrated there. Cadet Frazer 
remained at this camp of instruction for several months, as 
drill-master; but, though in consequence of his extreme youth 
and delicate appearance he could, doubtless, have readily se- 
cured a position which would have withdrawn him from the 
dangers of battle, the gallant young soldier would accept no 
such position, nor could he reconcile himself to the discharge 
of the monotonous duties of a drill-master when the soldiers 
of his State were confronting the enemy; and every day 



PHILIP F. FRAZER. 209 

brought to liim the intelligence of another battle fought. 
Leaving the camp of instruction then, he entered the Green- 
brier Rifles, Co. " E," 27th Virginia Infantry, as a private. In 
a very short time, though only sixteen years of age, he was 
elected first lieutenant of his company. So gallant was his 
bearing, and such the soldierly qualities which he had dis- 
played, that when his regiment was reorganized he was elected 
captain of his company, which position he held for two years. . 
In the spring of 1863 Captain Frazer was promoted major 
of his regiment. On several occasions, even while captain, 
he led his regiment into battle. In every battle in which his 
great commander, Stonewall Jackson, was engaged, except 
those around Richmond, when he was forced to be absent by 
sickness, he did his duty as a man and soldier. Through all 
he passed unscathed, until, at second Manassas, he received a 
painful, but not dangerous, wound. In the battle near Wil- 
derness Run, May 6, 1864, the very day on which he received 
his commission as lieutenant-colonel, this brave young officer 
fell, at the head of his regiment, shot through the head with 
a musket-ball, and died while being removed from the field. 
Not an unworthy pupil of the noble Jackson, he laid down 
his life near the spot where that grand old hero received his 
death-wound. His name from childhood had been linked 
with all that is kind, loving, generous, and true. At the time 
of his death he was but nineteen, perhaps the youngest officer 
of his rank in the whole army, yet the most distinguished 
officer of his regiment. Men of unquestionable courage and 
daring say that he was the most gallant and coolly brave man 
they ever knew. He lived without fear and without reproach, 
died as a true soldier, and is mourned as a devoted patriot, an 
efficient officer, a dutiful and affectionate son. The prop and 
support of his widowed mother and youngest sister, he unsel- 
fishly devoted to them the greater portion of the miserable 
pittance of pay he received. In his last letter to his mother, 
received after he had gained his soldier's crown, he sent her 
all he had, hoping, with tender solicitude, that it might help 
her till he could send her more. His body was interred at 

14 



2IO INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Hollywood, and by his side lies all that was mortal of an idol- 
ized sister (Mrs, George E. Taylor), a whole-souled Southern 
woman, not unworthy of such a brother, who dearly loved 
the cause, and, when it was lost, " her pen, with more than 
usual beauty and force, was often employed in the effort to 
add a freshened lustre to the fame of our heroic dead." United 
in life, in death they were not divided, one monument telling 
their story. 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON, 



OF WASHINGTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, 37TH VIRGINIA 
INFANTRY. 



Samuel V. Fulkerson, son of Captain Abram Fulkerson, 
a captain in the war of 1 8 12, was born in Washington County, 
Virginia, on the last day of October, 1822. When he was 
thirteen years old his father removed to Granger County, 
Tennessee. Here he was employed most of the time on his 
father's farm, and attended school in the less busy seasons of 
the year. His rather limited education was obtained at Mad- 
ison Academy, in the village of Rutledge, not far from his 
father's residence. After leaving school, when he had but 
just entered the more advanced classes, he continued his 
classical and mathematical studies during those hours usually 
employed by youths of his age in rest or pleasure, and by 
close application, and the appropriation of every moment that 
could be spared from domestic duties, he made astonishing 
progress. Hence it may be safely assumed that he was self- 
taught, certainly so in the classics. 

In the autumn of 1843, about the time he attained his ma- 
jority, after having served his father faithfully and well, and 
contributed largely to the support of the family, as well as the 
education of several of the younger members, he began to 
seriously consider his future course in life, and, after weighing 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON. 211 

the matter deliberately and advisedly, chose the profession of 
law. Having determined upon this, the next thing to be con- 
sidered was, how was he to enter upon an undertaking of such 
magnitude, without means ? While others under like circum- 
stances would have despaired, he looked at the brightest side 
of the rather dark picture, and at once made his arrangements. 
His father had given him a young horse, worth about fifty 
dollars. His plan was to sell the animal for an outfit, 
travel to a suitable place on foot, and teach school for the 
means of living while prosecuting his studies for the law. 
After his necessary outfit had been made, he had but sixty- 
two and a half cents left ; and with this capital in his pocket, 
and a manly determination in his heart to carve his way 
through the world, he started out on foot across the moun- 
tains, with his scanty wardrobe and provisions swung upon a 
stick across his shoulder. His destination was Jonesville, Lee 
County, Virginia, where he arrived the second day, weary but 
hopeful. Here he at once went to work, obtained a school, 
and entered upon the study of his future profession, under the 
instruction of Colonel John D. Sharp, a kind-hearted and em- 
inent gentleman, who had not failed to discover promise in the 
young adventurer. His prospects, v/ithout means and among 
strangers, would have seemed gloomy to a less ardent tem- 
perament; but having fixed his standard, he determined to 
struggle up to it regardless of temporary obstacles. 

There were other barriers that seemed to hedge his path- 
way, — even personal appearance was against' him, going, as 
he did, among comparative strangers with a haggard look and 
shorn locks, the effects of fever a short time before. A noble 
ambition to work his way up to usefulness, competence, and 
position, combined with a strong will, self-reliance, and gentle 
and social manners, soon won for him many warm and appre- 
ciative friends among the hospitable and generous people 
among whom he had cast his lot for the time being. 

He thus taught and studied and struggled on for about 
three years, and such was his progress that, in May, 1846, 
under the sanction and advice of his friend and preceptor, he 



212 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

applied for and obtained license to practice law, his exami- 
nation by the several circuit judges, before whom he was 
required to appear, having been full, critical, and highly satis- 
factory. He qualified at the bar in Abingdon in August, the 
same year. A i^"^ months after this, his first efforts having 
been successful, he formed a connection with Samuel Logan, 
Esq., one of the most prominent among the many eminent 
lawyers of Southwestern Virginia; and while the latter resided 
in Abingdon, he located at Estillville, Scott County, where he 
remained till the last of October. 

About this time the tocsin having sounded for volunteers 
in the war with Mexico, and having an inherent fondness for 
military life, as had his father before him, he laid aside his 
books and briefs, foregoing his aspirations and promising 
prospects of success in the profession he had so manfully 
struggled to attain, and determined to try his fortunes on a 
theatre where he could contribute his mite to the honor and 
glory of his country, which he loved with no ordinary devo- 
tion. His military aspirations, however, were several times 
nipped in the bud, as a greater number of troops had been 
offered than were needed or could be received, but the in- 
domitable will and perseverance that had borne him up and 
urged him onward from his father's little farm in Tennessee to 
a rapidly-increasing practice at the bar in Virginia were still 
in exercise and unconquerable. 

His preference was to join a command in his native State, 
but after repeated failures to do so, he made his way into 
Tennessee, where the drums were still beating for volunteers, 
and was more successful. Hearing that Captain G. W. 
Bounds was recruiting a company in Hawkins County, he 
sought him out and enrolled himself as a private. On arriv- 
ing at Knoxville, where the company was ordered to join the 
regiment of Colonel McClelland, he was mustered into the 
service of the United States on the 4th of December, 1847, 
and was soon after elected first lieutenant. They left Knox- 
ville on flat-boats, and the long and tedious voyage down the 
crooked and dangerous Tennessee, in open boats, and across 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON\ 213 

the Gulf in mid-winter in packed steamers, was attended with 
considerable privation and peril, but they passed through all 
safely, and landed at Vera Cruz on the 6th of January, 1848. 
His firmness and decision of character, celerity in acquiring 
a knowledge of tactics, and withal his kind and considerate 
treatment of the men, soon made him a favorite with both 
rank and file, and on the ist of February he was promoted to 
the adjutantcy of his regiment. 

As the command was late in reaching the theatre of war, — 
after most of the forces had " reveled in the halls of the Mon- 
tezumas," — there was no active service particularly for those 
of them who had an ambition to test " the pomp and circum- 
stance of glorious war." Hence the regiment was employed 
in scouting, guarding wagon-trains, and in occasional guerrilla 
warfare among the chaparral, — all dangerous and laborious, 
but not exactly the service the gallant prefer. When they 
reached Jalapa, they met the proclamation of peace. This, 
to be sure, was a disappointment to the ardent young soldier 
and officer, who had sacrificed so much and suffered so many 
privations to promote the cause and the progress of his country ; 
but, as he himself afterwards remarked to a friend, "it was a 
happy disappointment in view of the cessation of hostilities, 
the effusion of blood, and the devastation of that beautiful 
republic." The troops embarked at Vera Cruz for home on 
the 28th of June, 1848, and the regiment to which Adjutant 
FuLKERSON belonged was disbanded and paid off at Memphis 
on the 20th of July following. 

Thus ended young Fulkerson's Mexican campaign. He 
returned to Estillville, resumed the practice of his profession, 
and soon became as popular in civil life as he had been among 
his comrades in the tented field. In 1850, in obedience to the 
solicitations of his friends and neighbors, he announced him- 
self a candidate for the convention to amend the State Consti- 
tution, was elected, and served in this capacity with credit to 
himself and the fullest approbation of those he represented. 
After this he resided at Estillville and Jamesville alternately 
until 1855, when he removed to his native county with a view 



214 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



of making it his permanent home. He purchased a handsome 
property near Abingdon, to which he removed his aged pa- 
rents, who, through pecuniary misfortunes, had become de- 
pendent upon him for support, and never was filial affection 
more beautifully and happily illustrated. He took great de- 
light in improving his residence and adorning his grounds, 
and every moment that could be spared from professional 
duties was devoted to adding comfort and attractiveness to his 
home. He never married, and hence his undivided affections 
were lavished upon his parents, sisters, and brothers, educating 
some of the younger, and defraying the expenses of one of his 
brothers at the Virginia Military Institute, of which institution 
Mr. FuLKERSON had been appointed a Visitor by the Governor. 

His practice by this time yielded him a handsome income, 
and such was the confidence with which he inspired all who 
knew him that, in 1857, he was elected judge of the thirteenth 
judicial district, as one of the ablest and most popular jurists 
in Southwestern Virginia, which position he held, with the 
entire approbation of the people, until the cloud of the late 
" cruel war" overshadowed the land. When the storm came, 
he was among the first to respond to the call for volunteers 
and to offer his services to his menaced and invaded section. 
On the 28th of May, 1861, he was elected colonel of the 37th 
Regiment, the first organized in this end of the State, and 
started for the scene of action a day or two after. 

He arrived in Richmond with his regiment, where, after 
being kept some ten days in the camp of instruction, he was 
ordered to Laurel Hill, in West Virginia, the army of General 
Rosecrans having invaded that part of the State. This was, 
perhaps, one of the hardest campaigns of the whole war, as a 
large number of the men, being raw recruits and unused to 
the unavoidable exposure, became sick and discouraged. He 
was here assigned to the command of General Garnett, and 
for three months the gallant brigade, though not favored with 
a general engagement, was kept constantly employed in skir- 
mishing, scouting, advancing, and falling back, the 37th usually 
occupying the post of danger and of honor. At one time 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON. 21$ 

another regiment, every man of which, fit for duty, was a sol- 
dier, having been driven from its position, Colonel Fulkerson 
was ordered to take its place with the 37th, when, without 
the loss of a man, it repulsed the enemy and regained and 
held the position. 

A limited sketch like this cannot embrace all the details, 
but in all that long, hazardous, and terrible retreat before an 
overwhelming force from Cheat Mountain, through Maryland, 
to Monterey, in Virginia, in which the gallant General Garnett 
lost his life. Colonel Fulkerson's regiment was either in the 
front or rear, both deemed alike dangerous, as the enemy were 
both before and behind. When our broken and retreating 
forces reached Cheat River, which was deep, cold, and rapid, 
the men seemed reluctant to wade, seeing which Colonel 
FuLKERSON dismounted, gave his horse to a disabled soldier, 
plunged in, and the men all followed him cheerfully. His 
regiment bringing up the rear, he was ordered to form and 
remain on the farther bank to keep the enemy in check till 
the balance of the brigade with the wagon-train should get 
out of immediate danger. He remained several hours, and 
marched all night through darkness, rain, and mud to over- 
take the command. For three days and nights his regiment 
and himself were without food or sleep, and many of his men 
almost destitute of shoes and clothing. 

A few days after this damaging retreat the scattered forces 
were reunited at Monterey, in Highland County, West Vir- 
ginia, were soon removed to Greenbrier River, and again 
ready for any emergency. Here they found the enemy in 
their front, occupying a strong position on the summit of 
Cheat Mountain, and only some six or seven miles away. 
From October, 1861, to March, 1862, Colonel Fulkerson's 
regiment had a great deal to do in marching and counter- 
marching, scouting, skirmishing, and picketing. The weather 
in that high latitude was extremely cold and inclement, and 
a large portion of the men toil-worn, shoeless, ragged, and 
half famished. During this time the officer in command 
ordered Colonel Fulkerson, on a very dark and stormy 



2i6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

night, to proceed with his regiment some four miles upon the 
mountain-side. He started, but before he had proceeded a 
mile the clothes were frozen stiff on his men. He halted, 
and sent an officer back to the commander with the message 
that he would be compelled to return to camp, as his men, 
not being allowed fire, would freeze to death. The com- 
mander repeated his order. The colonel, on consultation 
with his officers, determined to return, and did so. Next 
morning he was put under arrest, and kept from his regiment 
several weeks. The facts having been reported to General 
Loring, the division commander, as soon as an opportunity 
offered he released the colonel, who rejoined his regiment at 
Winchester in March. This is mentioned to show his feeling, 
for his men. In writing to a friend about the time of his 
arrest for this disobedience of a cruel and inhuman order, — 
obedience to which would probably have resulted in the 
death of half his men, — he remarked, " I felt it to be neces- 
sary for the protection of my men against such inhuman 
exposure as the execution of the order would have imposed 
upon them, and I would do the same again, let the conse- 
quences to myself be what they might." 

In the interim between rejoining his regiment at Winches- 
ter and the first general battle in which he was engaged, 
Colonel FuLKERSON performed a vast deal of hard service, in 
which his regiment suffered greatly from cold and destitution, 
and long and rapid marches, to say nothing of severe skir- 
mishes at Capon Bridge, etc. 

The first great battle in which he bore a prominent part was 
that of Kernstown, near Winchester, on the 23d of March, 
1862. For the better understanding of the part he acted, it 
will be necessary to give the particulars somewhat in detail. 
He was now in command of a brigade. On the night of the 
22d of March, while in camp near Strasburg, he received an 
order from General Jackson to have his baggage packed and 
to be ready to move his command, consisting of the 37th, the 
23d, and the Danville Artillery, at daylight the following 
mornin"" on* the road toward Winchester. He made his 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON. 217 

arrangements accordingly, marched at the specified hour, and 
in about ten miles came to the vicinity of Kernstown, where 
the enemy was posted in strong force. Here he was filed half 
a mile to the left of the road, and placed in a piece of woods. 
He was then ordered to scout the woodland with his infantry 
still farther to the left, and extending parallel with the road 
leading to Winchester. He threw forward his skirmisher? 
and proceeded through the woods, followed by the 2d Vir- 
ginia Volunteers. Reaching the open land without finding 
an enemy in the woods, he reported to the general, who rode 
forward and ordered him to turn a battery of the enemy 
which had opened fire upon our troops from a commanding 
hill across the fields in front, and at the same time informed 
him that he would be supported by General Garnett, brother 
of the gallant general who fell in the retreat from Laurel Hill. 
Colonel FuLKERSON then threw his command into column by 
division at full distance, the 37th in front, and, after tearing 
away a portion of a plank fence intervening, entered the field 
directly in front of the enemy's position, from which a galling 
fire was instantly opened upon him. After proceeding some 
distance in that direction, he turned a little to the left, which 
brought the right flank of his command next to the enemy's 
position. The ground at this point being marshy, with several 
fences in the way, the advance was a good deal retarded, but 
steady and unfaltering, the enemy all the while throwing 
round shot and shell into the column with great rapidity. 

On the enemy's right, and near his position, stood a small 
cluster of trees. The colonel thought if he could so direct his 
course as to place that cluster of trees between the enemy's guns 
and himself, he would be protected from the fire that was annoy- 
ing him. But as soon as he had reached the desired point, a 
battery placed in the open ground, beyond the trees, opened 
a terrible fire upon him. He then turned still farther to the 
left, and took shelter in a piece of woodland, into which the 
enemy poured a very hot fire of shell and grape for half an 
hour or more. He also threw a heavy body of infantry on 
the brow of the hill below his guns, seemingly for the purpose 



2i8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of resisting a charge upon the position. Colonel Fulkerson's 
advance, up to this point, was under fire for a mile that might 
well have made veterans quail, but his officers and men pressed 
steadily forward, instantly closing up when a break was made 
in the column by the enemy's shot. 

He then moved across a hill and took shelter in a hollow 
jvhere General Garnett had sheltered his brigade, and reported 
his position to General Jackson. At this point he was much 
annoyed by the enemy's shell. In a short time the 27th 
moved forward as skirmishers and engaged the enemy, when 
Colonel FuLKERSON instantly put his command in line under 
cover of some timber, and moved forward across a field under 
a most destructive fire of musketry. Here he had a struggle 
with the enemy for the possession of a stone fence which ex- 
tended from the left flank of our forces already engaged on 
the right, behind which he took position, thus forming the left 
of the Confederate line. On reaching the stone fence, he 
found two regiments of the enemy in the field a short distance 
beyond, upon which he opened a very destructive fire, cover- 
ing the ground with the killed and wounded. The enemy 
withstood this fire but a very short time, when they gave way 
and fled to the woods in their rear, and to a stone fence which 
joined to, and I'an at right angles with, that behind which 
Colonel FuLKERSON had taken shelter. He immediately de- 
tached a portion of the 37th and placed them in position at 
the junction of the two fences, for the purpose of dislodging 
that portion of the enemy which had there taken shelter. 
This was soon effected, and the enemy driven entirely from 
the field, leaving a stand of colors. 

This was about the close of the day as well as the close 
of the fight, as our forces, overpowered by numbers, began 
to fall back, and eventually left the field in good order, ready 
to renew the struggle whenever the enemy might feel like 
it. The loss was heavy, and the battle of Kernstown will be 
recorded in history as one of the most bloody for the number 
engaged during the war. Colonel Fulkerson went into the 
fight with three hundred and ninety-seven men in the 37th 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON. 219 

and one hundred and sixty in the 23d, making a total of five 
hundred and fifty-seven. The artillery was not engaged. 
His loss was very heavy, aggregating in killed, wounded, and 
missing one hundred and sixty-two. 

From this time till the battle of McDowell, Colonel Fulker- 
SOn's command was kept in active duty during the month of 
April, marching up and down the Valley, crossing back and 
forth into the passes of the mountains, skirmishing and scout- 
ing both day and night, till the infantry in that department 
was known by the name of "Jackson's Foot Cavalry." 

On the morning of the 8th of May a portion of the Valley 
forces were moved toward McDowell, a village among the 
mountains of Highland County. General Johnson was sent 
forward with his brigade as the advance, Colonel Fulkerson 
following with another brigade. When within a mile of Mc- 
Dowell, where Milroy was posted with a strong Federal force, 
light skirmishing commenced, and towards evening the ad- 
vance brigade became engaged in a general fight. Colonel 
Fulkerson was then ordered forward at double-quick. A 
portion of the way over which he had to lead his men was up 
a very bushy and rocky hollow, and when he reached the line 
of battle his men were nearly out of breath. All the way along 
they were exposed to the enemy's fire, the balls falling thick 
and fast among and around them. When Colonel Fulkerson 
reached the field, the officer commanding ordered him to the 
support of the 31st, which was trying to hold the overwhelm- 
ing force of the enemy in check, when he double-quicked into 
position. When he got there he found that he had but two 
companies, the others having been unable to keep up, and not 
exactly knowing the position of either the 31st or the enemy, 
as they were not firing at the time, he entered the woods be- 
tween them, but nearer the enemy, and gave the order to 
charge, which his men did with a shout, scattering the enemy 
in every direction through the woods. This was a bold move, 
but his position made it necessary. The remainder of his 
command was in the main fight, where he joined them with 
the two companies in a short time. By this time it had be- 



220 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL 

come so dark that the enemy could not be seen, and Colonel 
FuLKERSON ordered his men to fire at the flash of their guns. 
The fight lasted till nine o'clock at night, when the enemy 
withdrew, leaving General Johnson in possession of the field. 
In this engagement Colonel Fulkerson's loss was forty men 
in killed and wounded. At one time during the action some 
of his men got out of ammunition, when he ordered them to 
supply themselves from the boxes of the dead and wounded, 
and thus kept them shooting. The whole loss in the action 
was about four hundred, — that of the enemy much greater. 

Things were now getting pretty warm in the Valley, and 
the " Foot Cavalry" were kept busy watching the movements 
of the enemy, with occasional skirmishing, till the 25 th of the 
month. On the morning of the 24th, Colonel Fulkerson, 
again in command of a brigade, left his bivouac, four miles 
south of Front Royal, at daylight, and marched to Middle- 
town, and thence down the Valley in the direction of Winches- 
ter, reaching the mills south of the latter place early next 
morning, while a vigorous artillery duel was going on. A 
general engagement soon ensued, in which Colonel Fulker- 
son's Brigade acted a prominent part. He drove the enemy in 
his front, and suffered but slight loss, although for some time 
exposed to the enemy's batteries and long-range small-arms. 
His command was among those that made the last charge, 
when the enemy broke and fled through Winchester in the 
wildest confusion. 

Those acquainted with " Stonewall Jackson's way," know 
that his men never had rest, except at such times as were set 
apart by the President for prayer and thanksgiving. Hence 
Colonel Fulkerson was kept constantly employed until the 
morning of the 5th of June, when the little army reached Port 
Republic and went into camp. A considerable skirmish had 
taken place that day between our rear-guard and the enemy, 
in which the gallant Ashby lost his life. Although the enemy 
was in the vicinity in very strong force, no engagement came 
on till the 9th, when General Jackson, for the first time during 
the campaign, was very nearly taken by surprise. This was 



SAMUEL V. FULKERSON. 221 

the battle of Port Republic, and the last hot engagement in 
which Colonel Fulkerson participated in the Valley, and 
never was a more daring charge made than he led that day. 
Nothing but a narrow stream divided the contending armies, 
and before General Jackson knew of the enemy's immediate 
presence, a piece of artillery was planted at the opposite end of 
a covered bridge, some hundred and fifty yards long, through 
which he had to pass. This gun was well manned, and fired 
grape rapidly. Colonel Fulkerson was ordered to charge that 
gun through the bridge with the 37th Regiment, in face of the 
terrible fire, which he did, himself not less than fifty yards in ad- 
vance of his men. He captured the gun, together with several 
horses and prisoners, but sustained considerable loss in doing 
so. The wonder is that his regiment was not decimated. 

On the 26th of this month — June, 1862 — Colonel Fulker- 
son appeared at Richmond, where General Jackson had been 
suddenly ordered with his command. All that night the com- 
mand lay upon its arms. The morrow came, and all that long, 
hot day, while the fierce conflict was going on in full view, 
Colonel Fulkerson and his men were exposed to the terrible 
fire. Late in the afternoon they were ordered up at double- 
quick, and placed in the second line of the supporting column. 
Just at this time Colonel Fulkerson, on stepping to a little 
eminence a few paces in his front, received a mortal wound 
and fell. His comrades picked him up and carried him to the 
rear, but in a few hours his eyes beheld the last of earth, and 
his dust now mingles with that of his native hills in the old 
cemetery at Abingdon. 

Thus ended the career of Colonel Samuel V. Fulkerson, 
one of the purest, most disinterested, and unselfish patriots, 
who linked his fortunes and his all with the lost cause, whose 
character was without a blemish, and whose life had been 
devoted to usefulness, and that quiet and sublime benevolence 
that permitted not the left hand to know what the right per- 
formed. His men had the affection for him that children bear 
to a father, and many a manly tear was shed upon the bloody 
field of Gaines's Mill when the fjallant Fulkerson fell. 



222 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



EUSEBIUS FOWLKES, 

OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " F," I ITH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

Captain Eusebius Fowlkes, the second son of Thomas 
H., and Emily S. Fowlkes, was born in Nottoway County, 
Virginia, on the 17th of July, 1835. His father, finding it 
necessary to seek a more healthy location, removed to Mont- 
gomery County during his early minority, and settled upon 
the Alleghany Mountain. In that salubrious and elevated 
county the subject of this memoir grew to robust manhood. 
During the period of his youth he was characterized by an 
assiduous devotion to duty, the most unflinching adherence 
to truth and right, and a deportment indicating a sensibility 
as refined and delicate as that of a woman. He commenced 
his education at the Christiansburg Academy. He then be- 
came a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, where he 
graduated about the year 1858. Adopting the science of 
medicine as his profession, he repaired to the University of 
Virginia, where he graduated, and at once commenced the 
practice of medicine in Montgomery County. But he seemed 
to think that there were better openings for a young man of 
enterprise in some section of the Far West, and was on a tour 
of observation in the western part of Arkansas when he heard 
of the secession of Virginia and the opening of active hostil- 
ities between the North and South. He at once turned his 
course homeward, and, coming with as great speed as possi- 
ble, reached Virginia in June or July, 1861. He found that 
much of the best volunteering matter of the county had been 
taken up, as four or five large companies had organized, and 
were at that time at camps of instruction, ready for active 
duty. He was a believer in the doctrine of State sovereignty, 
and the consequent right of secession. He had received a 
military education, and enjoyed perfect health and vigorous 



WILLIAM GALT. 223 

manhood. A proud and insolent foe was actively preparing 
to invade the land of his fathers. Duty pointed him to the 
tented field. He went actively to work, and in a week or two 
had raised a large company, which he called the " Preston 
Guard." They reported at Lynchburg, and were assigned to 
duty at Manassas a few days before the battle of Manassas. 
They were assigned to the nth Virginia Regiment, com- 
manded by Colonel Samuel Garland. Many of his company 
being from his immediate neighborhood, and he being a 
physician, he combined the duties of captain, guardian, and 
physician to a much greater extent than was common. He 
was present with old Co. "F" at the battles of Manassas, Bull 
Run, Drainsville, Williamsburg, and Seven Pines, in which 
last-named battle he was killed on the 31st May, 1862. 

It is related by his men that he had a premonition that he 
would fall, amounting to a certainty, but his proud, heroic 
spirit scorned to shun death when his country's liberties 
were at stake; and of the thousands of choice spirits of the 
South who so nobly offered their lives upon the altar of 
their country, there were none brighter, purer, or more truly 
ingenuous than was that of Captain Fowlkes. The writer is 
sure that he echoes the sentiment of all who knew him when 
he says that in life he illustrated the high-toned Christian 
gentleman, and in death the self-devoted patriot and hero. 



WILLIAM GALT, 

OF FLUVANNA COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; ADJUTANT, 52D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Died in the hospital, at Winchester, Virginia, on the 6th of 
October, 1864, from a wound received in battle near Winches- 
ter on the 19th of September, Lieutenant William Galt, 
adjutant of the 52d Virginia Infantry, youngest son of Wil- 
liam Gait, Esq., of " Glenarvon," Fluvanna County, Virginia, 
in the twenty-third year of his age. 



224 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Willie Galt was one of the many ingenuous youths of 
Virginia whose parents, seeking for their sons an education 
based on the principles of sound science and Christian moral- 
ity, placed them in the Episcopal High School at Howard, 
near Alexandria. There, under the affectionate and watchful 
care of a principal who became alike endeared to parents and 
children, he evinced a docility of disposition, an eagerness for 
learning, a cheerful submission to rule and authority, and an 
abstinence from evil habits and practices, which, while they 
gained for him scholastic honors and personal esteem, might 
have served almost as an example for the young men of that 
higher sister institution, tha- Theological Seminary, whose in- 
fluence is to-day so widely felt throughout the Church and 
country. Alas, that even the nurseries of evangelical truth, 
of solid literature, and of true piety were not spared by our 
enemies ! 

Willie Galt during the four years he was at the High 
School never failed at the close of each season to bring home 
gratifying certificates of his deportment and scholarship, and 
never but once did he receive a demerit. After leaving the 
High School, he was for a time at the classical school of Mr. 
Dinvviddie, Greenwood Depot, Albemarle County, where he 
remained until he entered the Virginia Military Institute, in 
the summer of i860. 

At the beginning of the war he was a cadet at the Institute 
in the first year of his course. Leaving there with his corps, 
by order of the Governor, three days after the ordinance of 
secession, he was employed as one of the drill-masters at Camp 
Lee from April until July, when he went to Staunton, and acted 
in the same capacity until elected second lieutenant of Cap- 
tain James H. Skinner's company, 5 2d Regiment, then com- 
manded by Colonel John B. Baldwin. With this regiment he 
commenced his military career at Camp Alleghany, in the 
Northwestern Virginia campaign. A severe attack of fever 
caused his removal to Staunton just before the battle of Alle- 
ghany, fought by General Edward Johnson, in which his 
regiment bore an honorable part. On his recovery from this 



WILLIAM GALT. 



225 



illness he served as adjutant of the post, under Colonel Bald- 
win, at Staunton, until the exercises of the Institute were 
resumed in January following, when he resigned his commis- 
sion and returned to his academic duties. But he was never 
satisfied at having done so ; and, therefore, he the more gladly- 
marched with the corps to McDowell to reinforce General 
Jackson on the occasion of the memorable surprise and defeat 
of Milroy at that place. While thus with the army his old com- 
pany elected him second lieutenant in the place of one who 
had died. From that time he served as such until appointed, 
in the same summer, adjutant of the regiment. He was soon 
after painfully wounded at the battle of Port Republic, but 
rejoined his regiment on its return from the first Maryland 
campaign, and was never afterwards absent, except on short 
furlough or from severe sickness, with which he was again 
attacked in the spring of 1864. He was in the Maryland and 
Pennsylvania campaign of 1863, at the battle of Gettysburg, 
and in all the battles of the campaign of 1864 around Rich- 
mond, until he marched with General Early's army to Lynch- 
burg, and thence to Washington, participating actively in the 
operations of that army, and was severely wounded in the 
thigh on the 19th of September in the battle before Winches- 
ter. His regiment having suffered very seriously in the battle 
of Spotsylvania Court-House, and being subsequently still 
further reduced, he was urged by a friend to apply for a 
transfer. "No," he replied; "I could never leave the war- 
worn regiment. I must stand by it while there is a section 
left !" He did stand by it, bravely and well, to the last, be- 
having, as he had always done, even in the midst of disaster, 
with conspicuous gallantry, self-possession, and skill. 

It was a noble tribute to his merit and conduct as an officer 
when the surgeon of his regiment, who had long known and 
observed him, and had devoted himself to him in the enemy's 
hospital, standing over his dead body, said, with emphasis, 
" He was worth to the army a hundred men." 

But, while ever conscientious, prompt, and attentive to duty 
as an officer and a gentleman, — and, therefore, his loss severely 

15 



226 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

felt by his companions in arms, — these were not alone or 
chiefly the qualities which cause a large circle of private friends 
deeply to mourn for him. In tenderness to mother, sisters, 
and brothers ; in nice regard for the feelings of all ; in a most 
amiable and obliging temper; in strict morality, uniform 
propriety of deportment, and singular purity of thought and 
expression, he was scarcely surpassed-. Combined with these 
graces of character was a great deal of manly firmness and 
uprightness ; and in the hour of death he evinced a fortitude 
under suffering which attracted the observation and remark 
of all who approached him. 

When wounded in the battle before Winchester, he was 
taken by his comrades to a hospital in that town, and there 
necessarily abandoned in the further retreat of our army. 
Friends of his mother and of his family promptly went to his 
relief, and would have removed him to their own house had 
removal been practicable or desirable. Their attentions, 
although surrounded by the enemy,- were unceasing, and 
were recognized by him in grateful messages to his friends 
at home. 

To one of those dear ladies who inquired if he would have 
anything to read, he replied, " No, I have my Testament, and 
that is all I care for." These same true-hearted and devoted 
ladies, led by one whose name is a synonym for all that is 
pure and lovely in woman, remained with him until his brave 
spirit passed away in peaceful death ; and then, making every 
arrangement that could be thought of as comforting to an 
absent, bereaved mother, they strewed his coffin with flowers, 
and buried the young soldier, whom they had known but 
to administer to and admire, in their own beautiful Mount 
Hebron. 

May He who can alone adequately reward such conduct 
bless, preserve, and keep them for their kindness to him and 
the many others — the sick and the wounded of our army — 
whom they have nursed, comforted, and assisted ! 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 227 

/ 
SAMUEL GARLAND, Jr., 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA ; BRIGADIER-GENERAL, D. H. HILL'S DIVISION. 

Samuel Garland, Jr., was the only child of Maurice H. 
and Caroline M. Garland, and was born in the city of Lynch- 
burg, Virginia, on the 1 6th of December, 1830. His father, 
whom he had the misfortune to lose early in life, was the junior 
partner of the law-firm of S. and M. Garland, and a gentleman 
whose high character, pleasing manners, and genial nature, to 
say nothing of his well-cultivated intellect and professional 
success, made him a popular and leading citizen in the com- 
munity in which he lived. 

Through his mother, who was the daughter of Spottswood. 
Garland and Lucinda Rose, the little Samuel was directly 
connected with the Madison family of Virginia, — his great- 
grandmother on the maternal side being a sister of the third 
President of the United States. Much of young Garland's 
childhood was passed in the home of his excellent grand- 
mother, under whose fostering care and patient instruction he 
developed a love for books and a thirst for knowledge at an 
age when the majority of children have no other ambition than 
the gratification of their own wayward fancies and caprices. 
At the age of seven he was placed at a preparatory school in 
Nelson County, where, in the form of a daily journal, which 
he kept and forwarded regularly to his mother, he recounted 
all the little incidents, sports, and exercises of his beautiful 
boy-life. At the age of fourteen he was sent to Randolph 
Macon College, and thence, in a year after, to the Virginia 
Military Institute. Here the extraordinary powers of his 
mind rapidly developed, and he soon became a leading spirit 
among those whose keen perception and warm appreciation 
readily acknowledged his worth. He was prominently in- 
strumental in establishing among the cadets one of their liter- 
ary societies, the Dialectic, and, as a reward for his services in 



228 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

this respect, as well as in just recognition of his high fitness for 
the position, he was chosen its first president. Even now in the 
hall of the society hangs his portrait, a mute reminder of his 
services as one of the founders of the society, and, alas ! pain- 
fully suggestive also of the good old days, when in this 
" Cradle of Chivalry" were nursed many, who, 

" Living, were but dimly guessed, 

but who have since 

" Shown their length in graves." 

It was in the summer of 1848, on occasion of Commence- 
ment exerci-ses at the Virginia Military Institute, that the writer 
first met the subject of this memoir. He was then in the heyday 
of his youth, full of energy, full of hope, full of that laudable 
ambition which looks on life with high purpose and noble 
aim, and which sees in the untried future a bright goal which 
they only who march forward with steady zeal, brave heart, 
and patient step can ever hope to attain. Cadet Garland 
was one of a number who met the stage-coach from Lynch- 
burg on that calm, bright June evening, which memory 
even now loves to recall, when a party of ladies and gen- 
tlemen from his native town were known to be the occupants, 
and when, after a warm and cordial welcome to Lexington, 
they were duly initiated in all the attractive entertainments 
and charming hospitalities of that proverbially attractive 
"Athens of Virginia." 

As the gay circle met that evening in the reception-room of 
the old hotel, and listened to his glowing accounts of cadet- 
life, the trials of the plebes, the plagues, pleasures, and often- 
times slow profits that lay in the pathway of promotion, — the 
dry battle with books and tactics during the day, and last, 
though not least, the stolen flirtations " by moonlight and star- 
light, by fountain and grove," with the fair and favored belles 
of Lexington, at evening, — how little augury of the future lay 
unfolded in the picture then and there drawn ! Alas, how 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 229 

little dreamed we of the knell of Boonsbord , as the keen flashes 
of his wit and satire, the touching tenderness of his pathos, the 
chastened beauty and power of his eloquence, to say nothing 
of the gay and exuberant flow of animal spirits, pointed only 
to a life of brilliant and prolonged usefulness ! 

Graduating with high distinction at the Institute, he entered 
the University of Virginia in October, 1849, and remained 
there two years preparing for the practice of law, upon which, 
with the degree of B.L., he entered before attaining his ma- 
jority. 

As the heir of wealth and the only child of a fond and 
indulgent mother, occupying a leading position among his 
compeers, he presented a rare and beautiful example of deter- 
mined energy, purity of life, and a scrupulous regard for the 
responsibilities and duties which his position thrust upon him. 

Poring daily over his law books, he yet found time to cul- 
tivate "the good, beautiful, and true" in the more genial paths 
of learning, and, amid the dry details of Blackstone and Coke, 
he yet preserved a keen relish for whatever pertained to jes- 
thetics in literature and art, cultivating Hood, Tennyson, Mrs. 
Browning, Ruskin, and others of the " divine circle" with as- 
siduous care, and an interest which made him no less attractive 
in the parlor than at the bar. Books, pictures, birds, and 
flowers were sources of perpetual delight to him. He had also 
a marked fondness for dramatic pastimes; private theatricals, 
charades, tableaux-vivans, etc., found in him a ready and will- 
ing advocate, and he often jocosely remarked that the stage 
had .lost much in his having decided his vocation for the bar. 

In 1856 he married Eliza Campbell Meem, youngest daugh- 
ter of John G. Meem, Esq., a lady whose rare attractions both 
of mind and person rendered her eminently suited to be the 
wife of his choice. Their home in Lynchburg was for years 
the scene of uninterrupted and charming hospitality, and its 
every surrounding pointed to the taste, culture, and refinement 
of its owners. Indeed, no one could visit that home without 
being impressed with the rare and tasteful " fitness of things" 
in even the most minute details of its arrangement. 



230 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



For several years Garland's career as a lawyer was marked 
with uninterrupted success, notwithstanding he found time 
now and then for engagements of a literary nature, which he 
always met and discharged in such a way as to add to his 
reputation, both as an orator and scholar. His lectures before 
the students of Lynchburg College upon the " Laws of Nature 
and Nations" are said to have evinced marked ability, while 
his oration before the Society of Alumni of the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute was pronounced by competent judges one of 
the finest efforts of the kind ever listened to on any similar 
occasion. 

And now we approach with nervous hand and trembling 
heart that period in his history which, though replete with 
records of brave deeds and noble sacrifice, yet brings us at last 
to that closing scene of deep and terrible tragedy, when " his 
sun went down while it was yet noon," when the brightness of 
his countenance was shadowed by the battle-smoke, and the 
sound of his clarion voice silenced forever in the clashing dis- 
cords of the battle-din. 

Passing over the incidents of the John Brown raid at Har- 
per's Ferry, and the results thereof, viz., the formation of nu- 
merous volunteer companies throughout the State, we will 
simply mention that in November, 1859, Garland was unani- 
mously chosen to the captaincy of one of the first raised in 
his native town, and which was known afterwards as the 
" Home Guard of Lynchburg." There was scarcely a family in 
the town who had not a representative in this distinguished 
company, and from its ranks, during the awful struggle that 
followed, fell some of the bravest and most gallant spirits that 
were ever offered upon the altar of Southern independence. 

In the autumn of i860, Captain Garland became a com- 
municant of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and from that 
time to the latest hour of his life gave evidence of the fact in 
his daily walk and conversation that he had not received the 
grace of God in vain. 

In the memorable spring of 1 861, after the passage by the 
Virginia Convention of the ordinance of secession, instructions 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 23 1 

were received from Governor Letcher by the captains of the 
various volunteer companies of Lynchburg to be ready upon 
brief notice for orders to the field. On the 22d of April orders 
followed for them to report at Richmond, and on the 23d they 
set out. Arriving at Richmond, Captain Garland's company 
was assigned quarters in the Monument Hotel, whence, after 
a sojourn of a {q."^ days, it proceeded to the camp of instruc- 
tion lately established at the Fair-Grounds. In a few days 
Captain Garland was promoted to the rank of major, and put 
in charge of four companies, with which, on the 9th of May, 
he proceeded to Manassas Junction. Here several other com- 
panies were already stationed, but Garland being the ranking 
officer took command of the post, and formed the first encamp- 
ment upon that henceforth memorable and historic spot, — the 
far-famed field of Manassas. As troops poured in, the regular 
organization of the army progressed, and in a few weeks the 
nth Virginia Regiment was formed, and Garland, with a 
colonel's commission in his pocket, assigned to its command. 
Meanwhile, there brooded over his home, in Lynchburg, the 
swift-winged angel of death, in whose chilling arms were soon 
to be borne away from that home forever the objects dearest 
to him on earth, viz., his beautiful wife and only child. Mrs. 
Garland, whose health had been long declining, fell a prey to 
protracted disease on the the 12th of June, 1861, her husband 
and brothers being kindly permitted by General Beauregard 
to attend her funeral. Their little son Samuel, a child of 
rare intelligence and rapidly-unfolding faculties, survived his 
mother but three months. He died in the month of August 
following. Thus doubly bereaved, and with a grief at his 
heart, the heaviness of which none can tell " save only the 
All-seeing," our young soldier met the severe duties of his 
position not only without murmur, but with a fortitude and 
self-discipline as rare as it was commendable. For the events 
that followed in his military career we quote from that graphic 
and interesting sketch of his life, prepared for the University 
memorial volume by his friend and comrade, R. G. H. Kean, 
Esq., of Lynchburg. The quotation reads thus : 



232 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

" The I Ith was brigaded, shortly after its organization, with 
the 1st, Colonel Moore; 7th, Colonel Kemper; and 17th, Col- 
onel Corse, and General James Longstreet assigned as briga- 
dier-general. This brigade, which retained its organization to 
the end of the war, has the distinction, either by coincidence 
or merit, of having furnished, not to say made, three lieutenant- 
generals for the Army of Northern Virginia. It was com- 
manded successively by Longstreet, Ewell, and A. P. Hill, as 
brigadiers. 

"Colonel Garland and the iith bore a part in the first 
collision upon the line in Northern Virginia, in the affair of 
the 1 8th of July at Bull Run. The whole regiment, however, 
was not actually engaged, though for some hours under fire. 
The Federals made at one time a strong effort to force the 
passage of the ford, at the point held by the ist Regiment, 
which requiring some support. General Longstreet directed 
Colonel Garland to detach and send in four of liis companies 
under Major Harrison. They went in handsomely, under the 
lead of the gallant Harrison, and suffered considerable loss. 
Major Harrison fell at their head, shot through the body, and 
with an arm shattered. He died on the next day. 

" On the 2 1st of July, Colonel Garland's regiment was not 
engaged, nor any part of General Longstreet's Brigade. They 
held the line of Bull Run for half a mile below the road from 
Manassas to Centreville, including the ground contested in 
the affair of the i8th, and throughout the day were shelled 
incessantly by a strong detachment of artillery posted on the 
hills towards Centreville. In the afternoon, when news of the 
rout of the Federal army at the Stone Bridge was received, 
the whole brigade was moved forward towards Centreville, to 
within a mile of the village, and still nearer the Warrenton 
turnpike, along which the wreck of McDowell's army was 
hurrying; but the advance, which was general along the 
whole right, consisting of Bonham's, Longstreet's, Jones's, and 
Ewell's brigades, was at that point unaccountably arrested, 
and at sunset these troops were drawn back to their original 
position behind Bull Run. The next morning at an early 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 233 

hour Colonel Garland received orders to proceed with his 
regiment to the turnpike between Centreville and the Stone 
Bridge, and collect the spoil left by the flying enemy. This 
was done in a heavy rain, which lasted all day and the follow- 
ing night. For about two weeks Longstreet's Brigade was 
encamped at Centreville. Thence it was moved down to 
Fairfax Court-House, where it remained until October, when 
General Johnston moved back his army to the fortified lines 
about Centreville, where the army went into winter quarters. 
About this time Longstreet was made major-general, and 
Ewell was commissioned brigadier-general, and assigned to 
this brigade. The iith remained quietly in camp, drilling 
and taking its turn at picket-duty at the point until the 20th 
of December. On that day, General J. E. B. Stuart, with the 
1st Kentucky, loth Alabama, 6th South Carolina, and nth 
Virginia Regiments, Cutts's Battery, and a squadron of cav- 
alry, made his unfortunate demonstration upon Drainsville, 
in which the force under his command was roughly handled 
by a greatly superior force of the enemy. The nth, which 
suffered least, and, indeed, did not fire a musket, had four 
men killed, and fifteen to twenty wounded. The other regi- 
ments suffered much more severely. Stuart withdrew the 
cavalry and left of his line and the guns of Cutts's Battery, 
the horses of which were so disabled as to be unable to move 
the harness, and he was so occupied with this object that he 
neglected to obey Colonel Garland's orders to retire. He 
held his regiment in position until the rest of the detachment 
were entirely clear of the enemy, when he sent word to Gen- 
eral Stuart that he was still safe in his original position, and 
received orders to withdraw by bringing up the rear. There 
was no pursuit. The remainder of the winter was spent in 
camp. 

" In October, 1861, General T. J. Jackson, then a brigadier- 
general, received orders to proceed at once to the Valley 
and take command. The orders were brought to him by 
Colonel McDonald. Colonel Garland went to take leave of 
his teacher and friend, who with characteristic promptness 



234 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



was preparing for an immediate departure to his new post of 
duty. Colonel McDonald was very solicitous about the de- 
fense of the Valley, and was at General Jackson's tent. He 
inquired, ' General, what force do you take with you ?' * No 
physical force, sir, except my staff/ was the quiet reply, — an 
answer which, without ostentation, implied to those who knew 
him, as the world did not learn to do until the following 
spring, the quiet consciousness of moral power and military 
genius. Colonel Garland, in narrating this incident at the 
time and afterwards, declared that the reply of Jackson was 
manifestly without the least consciousness of the interpreta- 
tion to which the emphasis of his language pointed. 

" Late in March, General Johnston broke up his camp at 
Centreville, and moved by Gordonsville and Richmond to 
the Peninsula to confront McClellan there. At this time 
Garland's regiment was one of the finest in the army. It 
was over nine hundred strong, having been greatly recruited 
under the operation of Governor Letcher's call for the State 
militia. The anxious care with which their colonel attended 
to everything which tended to promote the health, well-being, 
and discipline of his command bore its just fruit. The march 
from Manassas to Yorktown was toilsome, and the troops 
reached General Magruder's lines weary, but in good spirits. 
The sudden determination of General Johnston to evacuate 
the Peninsula in a few days placed the army again upon the 
road, and Longstreet's Division brought up the rear. In the 
battle of Williamsburg, in which Hooker* was punished for 
his temerity, the i ith bore its share and suffered considerable 
loss. Colonel Garland received a painful wound by a ball 
through the elbow, but kept his place on the field until the 
fighting was over. About this time, General G. W. Ran- 
dolph, Secretary of War, recommended Colonel Garland 
for promotion, and he was commissioned brigadier-general, 

* Dr. Cullen, the chief medical officer of Longstreet's Division, remained with 
the wounded when the division continued the retreat. General McClellan said 
to him, " Tell ' Pete' " (Longstreet's sobriquet at West Point, when he and Gen- 
eral McClellan were fellow-students) " that this was Hooker's fight, not mine." 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 235 

being nominated and confirmed along with Generals Kemper, 
Armistead, and Pryor. After the retreat of General J. E. 
Johnston to the neighborhood of Richmond, General Gar- 
land for a time was relieved from duty on account of his 
wound. But his absence from the field was brief A brigade 
was assigned to him, consisting of four North Carolina regi- 
ments. 

"This brigade he commanded until his death. It formed a 
part of the division of General D. H. Hill, and participated, 
under the lead of General Garland, in the battle of Seven 
Pines, the battles around Richmond, especially that of Gaines's 
Mill, on the 26th day of June, 1862, and in the second battle 
of Manassas, August 30 of the same year. In the invasion 
of Maryland, which followed the defeat of General Pope, Gar- 
land's Brigade was the van of Lee's army and the first to 
cross the Potomac. To narrate the part taken by General 
Garland and his command in these operations would exceed 
the limits assigned by the plan of this work. It was such as 
to win the unqualified approbation of his superiors, and would 
undoubtedly have secured his early promotion to the com- 
mand of a division. 

" While General Jackson was reducing Harper's Ferry, the 
other half of Lee's army was falling back before McClellan 
in the direction of Sharpsburg, Hill's Division bringing up 
the rear. On the night of September 13 they bivouacked on 
the western side of the mountain, near Boonsboro', Gar- 
land's Brigade holding the pass. Early in the morning of 
the 14th the Federals attacked General Garland in great 
force. During the night they had gained position upon the 
heights which overlooked the road by paths which had been 
reported to General Hill as impracticable, and Garland's 
Brigade, attacked by overwhelming numbers in front and 
on the flank, gave way. Their gallant commander rallied 
them, and well knowing the importance of holding the 
enemy in check, advanced at their head to endeavor to effect 
that result, when he fell, shot through the body. ' Thus,' 
says a comrade writing of his fall, ' in his twelfth battle the 



236 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

young hero fell, only thirty-one years of age, but full of 
honors, and with higher promotion just within his grasp. 
His last words were characteristic ; with that cool self-posses- 
sion which never forsook him, as he closed his eyes forever, 
he said, " I am killed, — send for the senior colonel and tell 
him to take command.'" His remains were taken at once to 
Lynchburg, where, on the afternoon of the 19th of September, 
they were carried to the tomb, attended by the greater part of 
the population. The citizens, in compliance with a resolution 
of the Common Council, closed their places of business, and 
that body, of which he had been for years an active and useful 
member, attended his funeral, and placed upon their journal 
resolutions expressing their sense of his merit and their loss. 

" Thus perished, in the flower of his age, one of the ablest, 
most accomplished, and amiable of the many sons Virginia 
laid upon the altar of Southern independence." 

Well may the widowed mother who survives to mourn him, 
and to whom he was ever a most loving, devoted, and dutiful 
child, take up the language of the stricken peer of England, 
who, in response to the condolence of a friend upon the loss 
of sudi a son, exclaimed, earnestly, " Fd rather have my dead 
son than all the living sons in Christendom f 

The poem which follows, and which we deem not an inap- 
propriate close to this sketch, was written on occasion of the 
reception of his remains at Lynchburg, on the evening of 
Thursday, the i8th of September, 1862 : 

And thus thou comest back to us 
In thy young glory crowned, 

The seal of Death upon thy brow- 
In majesty profound : 

That brow on whose green laurels yet 
The blood-stain dark appears, 

And on whose calm, sad beauty now 
Rain down our funeral tears. 

Oh, ever when the glad news came 
Of victory proudly won. 

We knew whose dauntless hero-hand 
The loftiest deed had done! 



SAMUEL GARLAND, JR. 23; 

We knew whose gallant step had moved 

Bravest among the brave, 
Where firm and bold bright forms stood up 

Their native soil to save ; 
We knew whose dauntless hero-heart 

One impulse only stirred, 
As Danger's threatening glance was seen, 

And Duty's call was heard. 
And thus our proud, high hopes for thee 

Must perish, and so soon ; 
Thus we behold thy glad sun set 

Ere yet, alas ! 'tis noon. 

We saw thee girded for the fight. 

We looked with pride the while 
Upon thy bold eye's kindling glance, 

Thy young lips' glowing smile. 
We bade thee go where strongest arms 

And stoutest hearts are proved ; 
We thought to welcome thy return, 

But, oh, not thus, beloved! 
Not with these mourning banners dark. 

This pale, sad, weeping throng. 
These funeral rites that to the dead — 

The bay-crowned dead — belong. 
We sent thee forth with glance of fire, 

With music in thy tone. 
We thought to see thee come again 

Not thus, not thus, our own ! 
Not with those pale lips, mute and cold. 

That e'er were wont to thrill 
With fervid eloquence the hearts 

That owned their matchless skill ; 
Not with thy glad eye closed and dull. 

Its light forever fled, 
While blood-stained chaplets darkly wreathe 

Thy fallen, martyred head. 

But rest thee now, in silence rest, — 

Open thine arms, O grave, 
And take to thy dark bosom now 

Our noble and our brave. 
Lo ! to thy solemn charge we yield 

A proud and precious trust; 
A mother's tears, a nation's grief, 

Follows this mouldering dust. 



238 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Rest thee, with her whose youthful love 

Made up life's dearest joy; 
Take to thy parent-arms once more 

Thy fair-haired, slumbering boy. 
Sleep, side by side with those whom Heaven 

In pitying love removed, 
Ere yet these sad funereal scenes 

Their gentle hearts had proved. 
Rest, soldier, rest, where willows green 

Shall o'er thee kindly wave. 
And where thine own home-flowers shall breathe 

Sweet incense o'er thy grave. 
Light be the soil above thy breast, 

And green the mantling sod. 
Peace to the slain whose footsteps here 

Had learned to walk with God ! 

Mrs. Cornelia J. M. Jordan. 



THOMAS S. GARNETT, M.D., 

OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, 48TH VIRGINIA 
INFANTRY. 

Thomas Stuart Garnett, the eldest son of Henry T. and 
Elira S. Garnett, was born in the county of Westmoreland, 
Virginia, on the 19th of April, 1825, and received in his native 
county an academic education preparatory to his admission 
to the Institute in July, 1840. From this institution, after 
preliminary study, he went to the University of Virginia for 
the purpose of studying medicine, which he had selected as 
his profession in life ; and such was the thoroughness of his 
training and the extent of his attainments, that he remained at 
the University only one year, and was admitted to the honor 
of graduation in 1845. 

Soon afterwards he commenced the practice of his profes- 
sion at Bowling Green, in the county of Caroline, Virginia, 
and remained there until the early part of the year 1846, when, 
responding to the call of patriotic duty and to the soldierly 



THOMAS S. GARNETT. 



239 



impulses which had been trained at the Mih'tary Institute, he 
joined, as h'eutenant, a company of volunteers raised by Cap- 
tain Smith Bankhead, and incorporated in the Virginia regi- 
ment which served through the Mexican war under the com- 
mand of Colonel Hamtramck. Lieutenant Garnett followed 
this regiment through the whole of the campaign in which it 
was engaged, subsequently assuming the duties of adjutant 
to the regiment, and adding to these his professional services 
as a surgeon whenever the occasion made such demands on 
his skill and generosity. 

Returning from the Mexican war, he was married, in the 
year 1848, to Miss Emma L. Baker, of King George County, 
and immediately afterwards resumed the practice of his pro- 
fession at the county seat of Westmoreland, where he was 
soon elected colonel of the Westmoreland militia, while, at 
the same time, holding the position of magistrate for the 
county. 

He subsequently removed to the county of New Kent, and 
there, too, combined with his professional duties those of the 
local magistracy, winning the confidence and esteem of all 
with whom he came in contact. In i860 he returned to his 
native county, adding now the pursuits of agriculture to those 
of his profession, when at the call of public duty he unhesi- 
tatingly renounced all " luxurious delights," to join with his 
countrymen in their magnanimous struggle for liberty. In 
the spring of 1861 he was unanimously elected captain of a 
volunteer company of cavalry, raised in his neighborhood, then 
known as " Lee's Light Horse," afterwards as Co. " C," 9th 
Virginia Cavalry. In the month of June of the same year he 
was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 48th Virginia Infantry. 

On the 9th of August, at the battle of Cedar Run, while 
commanding the 2d Brigade of the "Stonewall Division," he 
was wounded, and evinced his unflinching bravery, his moral 
courage, and his exalted sense of duty not only by his valor 
on the field, but by remaining in the saddle five hours after 
he had been shot, thus endangering his life by irritating his 
wound. 



240 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

In 1863, not long before the terrible battle of Chancellors- 
ville, he received his commission as colonel of the 48th Vir- 
ginia Infantry, and while heroically leading the 2d Brigade of 
the " Stonewall Division" on that bloody field, was mortally 
wounded. On being carried from the field, he remarked, with 
perfect composure, to a comrade, "I am mortally wounded; I 
know the nature of these things." With a courage that was 
unflinching and a patience that was unmurmuring he bore his 
bodily suffering, aided by his mental peace, until the following 
day, when he died, in the prime of his manhood, and with a 
future promising a broader sphere of usefulness and higher 
honors, which he would have grasped but for his untimely 
death. He was a gallant officer, discharging all the duties 
that devolved upon him with exemplary fidelity ; always 
present on the battle-field to give cheering words and set 
heroic example to the soldiers he led, who loved him while 
living, and mourned his loss when dead. 

At his hearthstone he was a devoted husband, a kind father, 
and a true friend. His life was one of remarkable ingenuous- 
ness of character, sustained by firmness of principle, cheerful- 
ness of spirit, and gentleness of disposition. His remains were 
brought from Chancellorsville to Richmond, where they were 
placed in state in the Capitol, and thence escorted by the Gov- 
ernor and a large concourse of citizens to Hollywood Ceme- 
tery,, where he was buried with the honors of war. The 
remains were subsequently removed to the family burying- 
ground in Westmoreland. 



C. W. GAY. 241 

C. W. GAY, 

OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, DANVILLE ARTILLERY. 

Charles Wyndham Gay, eldest son of the late Charles S. 
Gay, a retired merchant of Richmond, and Margaret S. Gay, 
formerly Erskine, from the county of Greenbrier, was born on 
the 8th of August, 1841, in the city of Richmond. In the year 
1854 he removed with his parents to the vicinity of Staunton, 
where the family still resides. 

From his earliest childhood Charlie manifested those qual- 
ities of mind and heart which, as he developed into manhood, 
gained for him the affection and esteem of all who knew him, 
and so well fitted him to adorn society. Tenderly and in- 
dulgently reared, — the idol of a loving household, — there was 
found no trace of effeminacy in the man, unless it were a 
womanly purity of character. His devotion to his mother 
and his sisters seemed to be for him a talisman that kept him 
throughout his boyish history unspotted from the world, and 
gave him in after-years that chivalrous regard for the sex 
which is an essential element of true manhood, and was for 
Charlie an effectual safeguard against all that was gross. 
His tastes were all refined. His fondness for the classics, 
and especially for poetic literature, ancient and modern, was 
shown at an early age, and ripened into an appreciation of, 
and familiarity with, the beautiful in letters, which would have 
done credit to any devotee of the aesthetic arts. From his 
boyhood he was a reader and a student, and when he first left 
home for boarding-school, his scholarly attainments gave him 
place among his compeers beyond his years. 

At the school of Mr. William Dinwiddle, in Albemarle, 
where we find him from 1859 to 1861, he was a universal 
favorite. He was social in his disposition, and finding con- 
genial companionship among his school-fellows, young gen- 
tlemen from the Southern States, his kindly and cordial 

16 



242 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



manners won him many friends. And never were his genial 
quahties displayed to more advantage than when at Christ- 
mas-time he would gather those friends beneath his father's 
hospitable roof and devote himself entirely to their enjoy- 
ment. 

In the spring of i86i, when it became apparent that the 
war-clouds, so long impending, were about to burst upon his 
native State, young Gay did not hesitate for a moment as to 
his course. His proud spirit could not brook the thought of 
tame submission to tyranny, nor would he consent to remain 
in ease and security while others sought the tented field. 
With no personal or politi,cal inducements, with a physical 
constitution and a temperament all unsuited for the life of a 
soldier, caring not to inquire the causes of the struggle, wait- 
ing not to calculate the prospects of success, he sprung to 
arms at the first summons of Virginia, knowing only that her 
soil was threatened with insolent invasion, and animated by a 
sentiment of patriotic duty as lofty and devoted as ever in- 
spired warrior of old to deeds of heroism. 

On the very day that Virginia cast in her fortunes with her 
sister States, Charlie threw aside his books and hastened 
home, resolved to volunteer at once as a private soldier. In 
vain did his friends urge the condition of his health as a reason 
why he should seek some position less exposed. His chosen 
place was in the front of battle, and finding his purpose un- 
shaken, they only prevailed upon him to postpone enlistment 
until he could gain some acquaintance with his new sphere of 
action at the Virginia Military Institute. 

He went to Lexington and entered as a cadet, and for some 
two months devoted all his energies to perfecting himself in 
the various drills and acquiring the elements of military 
science. But longer than this he would not stay, and in the 
latter part of June wrote his mother, who had urged him to 
remain until the close of the half-session, that after mature 
consideration he had concluded it was his duty to leave, and 
that he deemed it more honorable to take the field as a private 
soldier than to wait until a commission should be procured at 



C. W. CAY. 



243 



the instance of his friends. Accordingly, Charlie, together 
with a younger brother, left the Institute, and, tarrying only 
a few days at home, both enlisted on the ist of July, 1861, as 
members of the University Volunteers, commanded by Cap- 
tain J. P. Crane. This company was composed almost entirely 
of students of the University of Virginia, of whom no small 
proportion were graduates, and no command in the army 
possessed for Charlie so many attractive associations. His 
conscientious performance of duty was soon observed by his 
officers, and gained for him, while almost a stranger in the 
company, the appointment as sergeant. Being assigned to 
Wise's Legion, then on duty in the department of Western 
Virginia, under General Lee, they marched through Staunton, 
en route for Lewisburg, on the 4th of July, 1861. Moving 
thence with the Legion to Gauley Bridge, after participating 
in a campaign of unusual hardship, they fell back at length 
to Sewell Mountain, and fortified against the superior forces 
of Rosecrans. 

In the fall of 1861 the Wise Legion was withdrawn, and 
ordered to Roanoke Island, and upon reaching Salem the 
University Volunteers were disbanded by order of the War 
Department. Charlie and his brother returned home, and 
remained there while hostilities were suspended by the winter. 
But with the approach of spring they set out again to join the 
army of the Shenandoah, which was breaking up its camps to 
advance upon the enemy in the lower Valley. The command 
was already in motion, but the boys came up with it a few 
miles from Strasburg, after a fatiguing tramp, on Sunday 
morning, as it was forming to move on to Winchester. With- 
out waiting for rest or food, they joined themselves at once 
to the Rockbridge Artillery, then commanded by Captain 
William L. McLaughlin, and in an hour or two were taking 
active part in the battle of Kernstovvn, in which the battery did 
memorable service. It had been first commanded by Captain, 
afterwards General, Pendleton, and was part of the " Stone- 
wall" Brigade of Jackson's Division. Nearly every section of 
the South, and all of the learned professions, were represented 



244 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

on its rolls. In Charlie's mess of eleven, there were eight 
students of divinity, — an evidence of the sort of association 
which he preferred. 

They remained with this battery but a short time, however, 
its great popularity having increased its numbers beyond due 
proportion. General Jackson ordered that all members who 
had joined after a certain date should be stricken from its 
rolls, with the privilege of joining any other commands. 
This occurred at Swift Run Gap, and Charlie and his mess 
at once united themselves in a body with the Danville Artil- 
lery, commanded by Captain George Wooding, and attached 
to the 3d Brigade of Jackson's Division. A few weeks after, 
this brigade, joining the forces of General Edward Johnson, 
moved, all under command of General Jackson, against Milroy 
in the western counties, driving him from Jack's Mountain and 
McDowell, pursuing as far as Franklin, and thence returning 
by rapid marches to the Valley. 

The history of the brilliant campaign of the spring of 1862 
needs not to be repeated in this brief memoir. In nearly 
every engagement of that eventful month Charlie's battery 
took active part, and he himself did gallant service. In the 
glowing description he wrote of his sensations as they charged 
the routed columns of Banks through the streets of Winches- 
ter, amid the wild cheers of welcome, it appeared how com- 
plete was the transformation from the quiet student to the 
daring and enthusiastic soldier. 

The battery narrowly escaped capture on the Harper's 
Ferry hills, being the last part of the army withdrawn in the 
retreat. Sullenly retiring between the flanking columns of the 
enemy, they avenged themselves at Port Republic, where their 
guns completed the rout of Shields's army, and "Stonewall" 
himself followed for miles in pursuit with two of their pieces, 
Charlie's gun being one, pouring grape into their ranks from 
every eminence. 

Immediately after these battles, the army of the Valley 
moved to the lines about Richmond, menaced by McClellan. 
The Danville Artillery took position near Mechanicsville, 



C. IV. GAY. 245 

and, during all the heavy fighting which followed its arrival, 
occupied advanced positions on the line. 

For six long, bloody days the battle raged with unabated 
fury. Charlie Gay never once left his post, nor did his brave 
spirit ever falter through all that Pandemonium of shot and 
shell. He stood to his gun as calmly as if it were but a holi- 
day exercise, never shrinking from the messengers of death, 
and by his example and his cheering words inspiring his 
comrades to equal fearlessness. 

The night of the sixth day's fighting found him quite un- 
well, and so exhausted by excessive marching and fatigue as 
to be really unfit for duty. A messmate procured medicine 
for him, and next morning, which was the ist of July, the 
memorable day of Malvern Hill, endeavored to dissuade 
him from going into the engagement. But he refused to re- 
port to the surgeon, and resumed his place at the gun. The 
battery went into position for action under a heavy fire from 
the gunboats on the James. As his piece was being brought 
into line, a shell burst over it, and a fragment struck Charlie 
in the shoulder and neck, causing instant death. 

His body was borne from the field by his brother, and re- 
ceived a soldier's burial in a neighboring churchyard. Thence 
on the following day it was removed by friends, who came 
from Richmond for the purpose, to the family burial-place 
in Hollywood, where now he lies under the shadowing oaks, 
awaiting the last great reveille. 

So lived and died our friend, leaving to us the memory of 
a blameless life and a heroic death, and the sincere belief that 
for him it was but a step from the clash of arms to a realm of 
perfect peace. 

In his private relations we would only say that he was as 
modest and retiring as he was deserving ; the very soul of 
honor and of truth ; a devoted son and brother, and a sym- 
pathizing friend. As a soldier, the most fitting tribute to his 
worth is the language of his battery commander, who after- 
wards so nobly fell at Fredericksburg, and who wrote from 
this battle-field to Charlie's parents, to whom he was a 



246 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

stranger, words of sympathy for the loss of a manly and high- 
toned gentleman, and a faithful and gallant soldier, — one who 
knew his duty, and was never known to shrink from its per- 
formance. 



S, B. GIBBONS, 

OF PAGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, lOTH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Simeon B. Gibbons, son of Samuel and Christina Gibbons, 
was born in Page County, Virginia, May 25, 1833. His boy- 
hood was passed in the Valley of Virginia. In July, 1849, he 
was entered as a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, 
where he graduated with credit in 1852. After this he taught 
school a couple of years ; was married in Harrisonburg in 
1855, and entered into business life in that place as a mer- 
chant. During his residence in Harrisonburg, Mr. Gibbons 
was for a time a member of the Board of Visitors of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute. He was also chosen captain of a 
volunteer company raised in Harrisonburg, with which he 
served during the imprisonment and at the execution of John 
Brown, at Charlestown, in 1859. During the following year 
a regiment was formed in this section, to the command of 
which he was chosen ; with this regiment he reported among 
the first at Harper's Ferry in the beginning of the war. Here 
his election was confirmed by the Confederate Government, 
and his regiment received the name loth Virginia Infantry. 
Colonel Gibbons served with General Joseph E. Johnston 
while confronting the forces of Patterson along the upper Po- 
tomac, when, after a series of brilliant movements, the former 
outwitted his adversary, and joined the army of Beauregard 
at Bull Run, securing a victory which sent a thrill of joy and 
hope throughout the whole South. The loth Virginia, then 
a part of Elzey's Brigade, arrived on the battle-field at the 
most critical hour of the day, and, headed by its gallant 



JOHN T. GIBBS, JR. 247 

colonel, aided in turning the tide of battle and routing the 
Federal army. The fall and winter of 186 1-2 were spent in 
the neighborhood of Fairfax Station. When General John- 
ston moved to the Peninsula to reinforce Magruder at York- 
town, Colonel Gibbons was sent with his regiment to the 
Valley of Virginia with Stonewall Jackson. In the arduous 
campaign which ensued he took an active part, participating 
in its many dangers and difficulties with an innate soldierly 
spirit, made more perfect by the example of his peerless 
leader. But his service was not to be of long duration, as 
he was killed while leading his regiment in a charge upon 
the enemy at the battle of McDowell, in Highland County, 
Virginia, on the 8th of May, 1862. 

Colonel Gibbons was not only an affectionate and dutiful 
son, a true and fond husband, but was beloved and respected 
by all who knew him. At his death every soldier in his 
command felt that he had lost not only a brave and Christian 
leader, one whom he could follow trustingly in battle, but a 
warm and tried friend, who could sympathize with him, and 
upon whose assistance he could always depend. 



JOHN T. GIBBS, Jr., 

OF LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA ; CORPORAL, ROCKBRIDGE ARTILLERY, STONE- 
WALL BRIGADE. 

The subject of this brief memoir was born at Old Point 
Comfort, Virginia, 31st of July, 1843. He entered the Virginia 
Military Institute as a cadet July 20, 1859, which position he 
resigned May 23, i860. 

On the breaking out of the war he joined the Rockbridge 
Artillery, under command of the Rev. Dr. W. N. Pendleton, 
With this company he served until, from excessive fatigue 
and exposure, he was taken sick and sent to hospital in Rich- 



248 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

mond ; he ling-ered but a few days, and expired on the 6th oi 
September, 1864. 

An extract from a letter received by his friends from Cap- 
tain A. Graham, then commanding his company, best shows 
his character and the estimation in which he was held : 

" I was not only surprised but deeply grieved to hear of his 
death, as I considered him one of the best and bravest soldiers 
in my company. In his character and conduct he had given 
promise of a useful and brilliant manhood. He was not only 
a brave and fearless soldier, but a sincere and consistent 
Christian." 



EDMOND GOODE, 

OF BEDFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 58TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Colonel Edmond Goo.de, the eldest son of John and Ann 
M. Goode, was born in Bedford County, Virginia, on the 4th 
of May, 1825. 

After attending for several years in his early youth the 
grammar schools of the neighborhood, he became a student 
at the New London Academy, an old and celebrated institu- 
tion of learning, over which the beloved Bishop Cobbs once 
presided, and which may now point with maternal pride and 
tenderness to a long line of worthy and distinguished citizens 
\4\iO laid the foundation of their usefulness and distinction 
within her classic and venerable walls. He continued to 
prosecute his studies at this institution until July, 1843, when 
he entered the Virginia Military Institute as a State cadet 
from the senatorial district composed of the counties of Bed- 
ford and Franklin. Having completed the course at the Insti- 
tute, during the last year of which he acted as a captain in the 
corps of cadets, he received his diploma as a member of the 
graduating class in the summer of 1846, and returned to his 
native county, where he taught school for two years, in fulfill- 



EDMOND GO ODE. 



249 



ment of the obligation which had been imposed upon him as 
a State cadet. After he had thus discharged the debt which 
he owed to the State, and was left free to consult his own 
inclinations, he devoted himself to the quiet and peaceful pur- 
suits of agriculture. In this avocation of life, so congenial to 
his tastes as a modest, unobtrusive gentleman, he demeaned 
himself in such a manner that he gained the respect and con- 
fidence of all who knew him, and enjoyed the reputation of an 
" honest man, that noblest work of God." In the memorable 
spring of 1861, when Virginia, threatened with hostile invasion 
and with the overthrow of all that she held sacred, called upon 
her sons to come to her rescue, Colonel Goode responded to 
that call with alacrity and zeal. How could he hesitate? He 
had no personal ambition to gratify and no selfish ends to 
subserve; but he was a native-born Virginian, the blood of 
Revolutionary ancestors coursed through his veins. His 
grandfathers on both sides had fought in the ranks of the 
patriots of 1776. His maternal great-grandfather had not 
only distinguished himself in the war of the first Revolution, 
but had rendered conspicuous service in the war of 18 12. He 
had been reared in the State-rights school, and had been taught 
to believe that his paramount allegiance was due to the Com- 
monwealth which gave him birth. He loved that Common- 
wealth for all the historic glories and hallowed associations 
which clustered about her honored name. His brother, as a 
member of the Convention, had voted for the ordinance which 
absolved Virginia from her connection with the Federal Union. 
Prompted, therefore, by the highest and holiest impulses, and 
feeling well assured that every consideration of duty, honor, 
and patriotism required him to take the step, he volunteered 
Avith four other brothers, among the first of that noble band 
of citizen soldiers which the good old county of Bedford sent 
to the field before the soil of the State had been pressed by 
the foot of the invader, or the thunder of his guns had begun 
to echo along our coasts. He assisted in raising and equip- 
ping one of th.e first volunteer companies that was organized 
in Bedford, and went into camp about the ist of May, 1861. 



250 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Having been appointed adjutant of the 28th Virginia Regi- 
ment, which was commanded by that whole-souled patriot and 
noble gentleman, Colonel Robert T. Preston, of Montgomery, 
he was ordered to Manassas Junction, where he remained in 
camp until the 21st of July, 1861. On that memorable day 
in the history of our struggle he went into action with his 
regiment, and performed his whole duty honorably and faith- 
fully. Sometime in the fall of 1861 he was commissioned by 
the State, colonel of the 58th Regiment of Volunteers, and 
ordered to the mountains of Virginia, west of Staunton, to 
watch a threatened movement of the enemy in that quarter. 
There he remained in camp with his regiment during the 
winter of 1861 and 1862. 

While no opportunity of meeting the enemy was afforded 
him, yet during those dreary winter months he exhibited 
qualities of head and heart which demonstrated that he was 
eminently fit to command, and his men became so warmly 
and devotedly attached to him that they would have gladly 
followed wherever he led the way. But an all-wise Provi- 
dence had decreed that he should be cut down in his career 
of usefulness and honor, and spared the humiliation and pain 
of witnessing the final overthrow of that cause which he loved 
so well. His exposure to the rigor and severity of a winter 
in the mountains of Virginia superinduced a disease from 
which he never recovered. After he had undergone severe 
suffering in the camp, he was removed to his home in the 
county of Bedford, where he died in the bosom of his family, 
in the month of March, 1862. Such is a brief and imperfect 
sketch of a chivalrous gentleman and gallant soldier, of whom 
it is sufficient eulogy to say that he acted well his part as one 
of that "noble army of martyrs" who suffered and died in the 
cause of Southern independence. 



p. H. GRAND Y.— WILLIAM J. GREEN. 25 I 



P. H. GRANDY, 

OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, — REGIMENT, NORTH 
CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

P. H. Grandy, son of A. \V. Grandy, Esq., of Norfolk, Vir- 
ginia, entered the Virginia Military Institute in October, 1859, 
being sixteen years old. Went into service as a drill-master 
\vith the corps of cadets in April, 1861. Was appointed first 
lieutenant in a North Carolina regiment, and served as such 
until killed in the battles around Richmond, in June, 1862, in 
the nineteenth year of his age. 



WILLIAM J. GREEN, 

OF STAFFORD COUNTY, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 47TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

William J. Green, the eldest son of Duff Green, Esq., of 
Falmouth, in the county of Stafford, was born on the 25th 
of November, 1825. He entered the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute in 1843, ^"<^ graduated in July, 1846. 

After leaving the Institute he became a partner with his 
father, who combined the business of merchant, manufacturer, 
and farmer. His integrity, capacity, and energy produced 
their usual result of success, and the growing esteem and 
confidence of the community. 

His love for military life made him take much interest in 
training the militia of his native county, in which his skill in 
tactics and executive ability led to his promotion to the 
command of the 45th Regiment Virginia Militia, a position 
he held until the war. Though opposed to secession, he was 



252 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



one of the first of her sons to tender his services in the 
defense of Virg-jnia. He was commissioned as lieutenant- 
colonel, and assigned at first to the 30th Virginia Infantry, 
but soon transferred to the 47th Regiment. During the first 
year of the war, his regiment was not engaged in any pitched 
battle with the enemy, but was occnpied with the harassing 
duties of picket service, and in drill and training for more 
exciting and eventful campaigns. His discipline and tactical 
skill contributed largely towards its preparation and fitness 
for its subsequent brilliant career. 

The rigor of his discipline, exercised not less upon himself 
than upon others, the value of which was not then, at least, 
appreciated, caused dissatisfaction among the subaltern officers, 
and led to his being left out at the reorganization of the regi- 
ment in the spring of 1862, a fate which befell so many others 
of the best officers in the service. 

Being then without a command, he was urged by friends 
and brother officers to proceed to Richmond to seek a com- 
mand suitable for his ability and skill. But he could not bear. 
the idea of leaving the front while battle was imminent, and 
he accepted the invitation of Brigadier-General J. J. Pettigrew 
to serve upon his staff as volunteer aid. He remained with 
him until the battle of Seven Pines, where General Pettigrew 
was severely wounded and taken prisoner. Brigadier-General 
Pender, who succeeded to the command, requested Colonel 
Green to remain upon his staff. At the battle of Mechanics- 
ville, June 26, 1862, the efficient services of Colonel Green 
were highly appreciated by his brigade commander and the 
gallant officers with whom he was associated. On the day 
following, the enemy having been driven to Cold Harbor, 
General Pender's Brigade was ordered to the front to assail 
their formidable line, and after a severe fight was thrown into 
disorder by the force of the greatly superior numbers to which 
it was opposed.' 

Having succeeded in rallying the disordered ranks around 
him, Colonel Green, with the cool, intrepid bravery which 
characterized him, led them in another charge upon the 



WILLIAM J. GREEN. 253 

enemy. In this charge he fell, having received two balls, 
one through the heart, the other through the stomach, and 
yielded his life a willing sacrifice for Virginia he loved so 
well, and as he had but a few hours before expressed the 
hope, " that he might fall as became his lineage." 

Assistant Adjutant-General Lewis G. Young, in announcing 
his death, writes : " No braver man, and few as accomplished 
officers have fallen in this or any other war. Among us he 
was loved and esteemed, and I grieve for him as one of my 
most cherished friends." 

General Pettigrew, one of the most gallant and accomplished 
men of his time, said, in the hearing of the writer of this sketch, 
that " Colonel Green was the most perfect pattern of a staff- 
officer he had ever known. His intelligent knowledge of his 
duties, tact, discretion, energy, devotion to duty, obedience, 
courage, and firmness, left nothing to be desired in him." 

" Will Green," as his friends called him, had many high 
and noble qualities. He was somewhat impetuous in temper, 
and open and unsparing in the expression of his disapproval 
of anything which seemed low or mean. His dis'likes were 
sure to be known. He was frank and generous, and devoted 
in his attachments. No man would have done more for his 
friends than he. His nerve and force of will would have 
made him a marked man in any position of life. He was a 
born soldier, and a brilliant career was cut short by his early 
death. 

Judge William S. Barton. 



254 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

WESLEY P. GRIGG, 

OF PETERSBURG, VIRGINIA ; SERGEANT, MARTIN'S BATTERY. 

Wesley Peyton Grigg, the eldest son of Wesley and A. F. 
P. Grigg, of Petersburg, Virginia, was born October i8, 1846. 
Even in his youth he manifested those characteristics of a 
sound intellect and marked character which were unusually 
developed into the sterling integrity and unswerving rectitude 
of a premature but vigorous manhood. And while cut off 
before reaching the age of maturity, he had already been de- 
veloped into an accomplished scholar and a veteran soldier. 

In his sixteenth year, under the instruction of the writer, he 
had made such progress in his studies that he was enabled to 
enter the second class, half advanced, of the Virginia Military 
Institute, on the 1st of January, 1862. During the spring of this 
year Cadet Grigg went with the corps of cadets when ordered 
out to join Jackson at McDowell. Fortunately, it was not found 
necessary to carry the cadets into battle. The next autumn 
he was made adjutant of the corps of cadets, which position 
he held with credit to himself until he graduated, in July, 1863. 
He entered the army in March, 1864, enlisting in Captain S. 
Taylor Martin's Battery, which was then stationed at Fort 
Powhatan, on the Appomattox. During the summer of that 
year he was made sergeant of one of the guns, which position 
he held with distinguished courage and efficiency amid all 
the hard service of the succeeding campaign, and during all 
the hardship of the memorable retreat, and surrendered with 
General Lee at Appomattox Court-House, in the spring of 
1865. 

As an example of moral courage and heroism, we have the 
following authentic instance from the warm heart and graphic 
pen of a comrade who knew him well, and loved him with an 
affection which was beautified and strengthened by the toils 
and dangers of the camp : 



WESLEY P. GRIGG. 



255 



"Whilst the battery was stationed to the east of Blandford 
Cemetery, near the scene of the ' crater explosion,' we were 
daily engaged in artillery duels with the enemy, in which 
contests candor compels me to state that the Hotchkiss guns 
of the enemy proved more effective than the ' iron Napo- 
leons,' with which we were supplied. 

"About half-way between the lines was a tree, which was a 
great source of annoyance to Sergeant Grigg, as it was in the 
line of his gun. The captain offered inducements to any of 
the company who would cut down this tree, but with no effect, 
as it seemed certain death to attempt it. At length Sergeant 
Grigg stepped up and offered to cut it down, if Jic ivas ordered 
to do so. 

"Taking with him an axe, he soon reached the tree, and, 
keeping time with his sturdy strokes to the solenm music of 
the whistling Minie and an occasional rifle-shot or shell, he 
calmly and quietly cut till the tree was down, thinking all 
the time, as he afterwards said to me, 'that the only thing 
a soldier should do was to obey.' " 

This illustration, selected from others, is sufficient to show 
the character of the youthful soldier. Not rash, but resolute 
in the discharge of duty. Not ambitious to reap honors for 
gallantry by voluntary exposure to danger, but ready to sac- 
rifice his life at the command of a superior, in whose judgment 
he had confidence, and at whose command it was his duty and 
his pleasure to bow. Not zealous to reap applause from an 
heroic action which appalled the hearts of older men, but 
ready to risk all when older men declined the sacrifice ; and 
only then when the captain would take the responsibility of 
what his friends might esteem rashness, and order him to do 
what he regarded a necessary thing for the safety and efficiency 
of his men. 

But as we learn from this same comrade, when voluntary 
kindness and self-sacrifice were called for Sergeant Grigg was 
ready always to render it, and when there was no hope of a 
reward. Thus he relates how one night, when he himself 
had fallen asleep on guard, from sheer exhaustion under the 



256 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



fatigue of the previous day, and on rousing up at roll-call, he 
was amazed and gratified to find Sergeant Grigg quietly walk- 
ing his post for him. And on closing an enthusiastic eulogy 
of his army-life, which it is useless to include in this brief 
biography, he says, — 

" He was a warm friend, a true soldier, and a Christian man. 

" ' Green be the turf above thee, 
Friend of my early days ; 
None knew thee but to love thee, 
None named thee but to praise !' " 

Such testimony from a constant companion and comrade in 
arms shows the warmth of his affections, and the noble traits 
of intellect and heart which could endear him so tenderly to 
those who knew him amid scenes calculated to develop what- 
ever of real manhood there was in the nature, and to test, as 
in a crucible, the graces of the Christian, as well as the 
instincts of the gentleman. 

Although not a member of the church, it is believed by 
those who knew him most intimately and loved him most 
tenderly, that Sergeant Grigg was a true and devoted follower 
of the meek and lowly Jesus. 

In September, 1865, he entered the University of Virginia, 
and in two weeks from the time of his departure from his 
home the seeds of disease contracted in service sprung up, 
and he was called suddenly away by a congestive chill, whose 
violence precluded any words of assurance as to his hope for 
the future. But his life of religious training in youth, and his 
evidences of vital piety, given amid such active scenes of boy- 
hood bravery, are to us a better guarantee of simple trust in 
Jesus than mere words uttered amid the lucid moments of a 
delirious brain. And we can but trust that in his case the 
Scripture will be fulfilled, — " And lie shall be mine, saith the 
Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels ; and I 
will spare hbn as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." 

J. E. Christian. 



CHARLES T. HAIGH. 257 



CHARLES T. HAIGH, 

OF FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA; LIEUTENANT, CO. " B," 37TH 
NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Charles T. Haigh was the son of John C. Haigh, Esq., 
of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and was born in that place in 
March, 1845. His father's family was of English descent. 
Charlie Haigh's early school-boy life was marked by the 
same strict sense of honor and truth that so distinguished 
him afterwards. In his fifteenth year, during the session of 
1859-60, he was a cadet at the Hillsboro' Military Academy, 
and at the breaking out of the war was appointed drill-master 
at one of the camps of instruction in North Carolina. At the 
re-opening of the Virginia Military Institute, in the winter of 
1 86 1 and 1862, he was sent there by his father, and entered 
the fourth class. Remaining at the Institute until the sum- 
mer of 1863, he saw his first active service as a cadet when 
the corps was called out to reinforce General Jackson, in the 
spring of 1862. In July, 1863, at his earnest request, his 
father permitted him to resign his cadetship ; for, though 
exempt by law, he thought it every one's duty who could 
bear arms to go to the front. " Of what use will an educa- 
tion be after we have been conquered?" he used to say; and 
when the news of the battle of Gettysburg came, after sitting 
silent for some time, he said, " Boys, we must all join the 
army ; our country needs us. For my part, I can't stay here 
longer." Moved by such feelings as these, immediately after 
his resignation he volunteered as a private in a North Caro- 
lina cavalry regiment ; but served only a short time in that 
capacity, being elected a lieutenant in Co. " B," 37th North 
Carolina Infantry, Lane's Brigade. His first battle was in the 
Wilderness, where he acted with all the coolness of a veteran. 
At the great battle of Spottsylvania Court-House, May 12, 
1864, Lane's Brigade, with others, was ordered to charge a 

17 



258 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

battery of the enemy, and it was there, in that terrible horse- 
shoe angle, where so many of the best and boldest of the 
South died " for cause and country," that Lieutenant Haigh 
met his death, gallantly charging at the head of his men, 
cheering them on. Here is the account of an eye-witness : 

" You will see in the Richmond papers, and from General 
Lee's dispatch, accounts of our charge of Thursday after- 
noon. In that terrible charge, Colonel Barbour was taken by 
the enemy, and Charlie Haigh was killed. He was shot 
through the head. He behaved with most distinguished gal- 
lantry in this and all the fights. Just as we emerged from the 
woods and dashed upon the guns, I saw him near by me 
with his arms raised, shouting, ' Charge, boys ! charge ! the 
battery is ours !' All the while the grape, canister, shrap- 
nel, shell, and round-shot were crashing through' the trees, 
plowing up the ground, and cutting down our comrades." 

And thus he died, with the cry of victory upon his lips, 
on the very ramparts of his country. In the bloom of his 
youth he was taken to a happier and better world ; and when 
the reveille of eternity shall be sounded, and all the people 
of the earth shall rise as one man, at that last great roll- 
call Charlie Haigh will stand in the ranks along with our 
great leader, Jackson, and with Rodes, Garland, Burgwyn, Mar- 
shall, Petway, and hundreds of others, sons of the Virginia 
Military Institute, to whom it shall be said, "Well done, thou 
good and faithful." For have we not been told that " greater 
love than this hath no man shown, that he gave his life for his 
friend " ? Surely we may hope that the perfect sacrifice of our 
Southern boys will have its reward. 

Before closing this brief sketch, let me add an extract from 
a letter of a member of the Confederate Congress, written a 
few days after the battle : 

" Please say to Mr. John C. Haigh that his son was killed 
while charging far into the lines of the enemy. He died 
gloriously; his gallantry was conspicuous; and though his 
parents must bewail his loss, they should have this as a con- 
solation — he was brave and fearless ; he died in discharge of 



JOHN A. HAIRSTON. 259 

his duty. High among the front rank, where death flew fast, 
it stopped to confer immortal honor." 

[Copy.] " Headquarters Lane's Brigade, 

"September 16, 1864. 
"EXTRACT. 

"Among the brave spirits who fell during this hard but 

gloriously-won battle, , . . Lieutenant C. T. Haigh, of Co. 

' B,' 37th Regiment, and . . . Than these, none were more 

attentive to duty, none more upright in their conduct, none 

more gallant^ on the battle-field. Lieutenant Haigh was 

among the foremost in the charge upon the battery, and won 

the admiration of all who saw him. 

"(Signed) James H. Lane, Brigadicr-Gcmraiy 

This is an extract from General Lane's official report, of the 
battle of the 12th of May. Except certain officers of the 
staff and regimental commanders. Lieutenant Haigh and one 
captain are the only officers mentioned outside of the lists of 
killed and wounded. 

T. P. Devereux. 



JOHN A. HAIRSTON, 

OF HENRY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 24TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

This young man was the only son of Marshall Hairston 
and Anne, his wife, and was born at his father's residence in 
Henry County, Virginia, on the 20th day of April, 1840. 
He entered the Institute as a pay-cadet on the 24th of July, 
1858; but, as his constitution was naturally delicate, his 
health became so impaired that he was unable to undergo 
the discipline and perform the duties required by the regula- 
tions of the Institute, and he therefore resigned in January, 
1 860. He shortly after went to Philadelphia for medical treat- 



26o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ment, and then spent the winter of 1860-1 on a plantation of 
his father's in Mississippi with the rest of the family. While 
there, the raising of troops for the impending war commenced, 
but his health was too feeble to permit him to join the volun- 
teers, though he contributed a part of the expense of raising 
and equipping a company from the county in which he was 
staying. He subsequently returned to Virginia; and being 
a very ardent advocate of the Southern cause, though he was 
unable to endure constant service in camp, yet, when it was 
apparent that a battle was impending at Manassas, he repaired 
to the camp near that place, and connected himself tempo- 
rarily with the 24th Virginia Regiment, in the brigade of 
Colonel (afterwards General) Early. Acting with Captain 
Bentley's company of the 24th, he was present at the affair 
at Blackburn's Ford, on Bull Run, on the i8th of July, and 
also at the same point under the fire of the enemy's artillery 
on the 2 1st, though the regiment did not participate in the 
battle, which was fought on the left. On both occasions the 
coolness and cheerfulness with which he took his place in the 
ranks and performed the duties of a soldier were conspicuous. 
After the battle was over he returned home and spent the 
next winter in Mississippi, but returned to Virginia in time to 
rejoin the 24th Virginia Regiment in the trenches near York- 
town, where he again took his position in the ranks. He was 
present at the battle of Williamsburg on the 5th of May, 1862 
and in the charge of the 24th on Hancock's Brigade, on the 
extreme Confederate left, he was killed while fighting most 
gallantly. In this charge the 5th North Carolina Regiment 
soon came to the assistance of the 24th, and the conduct of the 
two regiments (both of Early's Brigade) was such as to elicit 
even from the correspondents of Northern papers the highest 
praise. It was reported by Confederate surgeons left in charge 
of our wounded that both Generals McClellan and Hancock 
remarked that these two regiments deserved to have the word 
"immortal" inscribed on their flags. Among the bravest and 
most devoted of those who went into that charge was young 
Hairston, and his name well deserves to be enrolled among 



y. A. HAMBRICK. 26 1 

those of the heroes whose lives were given to their country's 
cause. 

The infirmity of his health would have enabled him to 
keep out of the service, and his father's ample fortune would 
have furnished him the means of obtaining an exemption had 
his health been good; but he voluntarily did all of which he 
was capable, and sought the battle-field when there was danger, 
thus furnishing a most striking contrast to the conduct of those 
able-bodied young men who procured substitutes and sought 
exemptions in other ways. 

He was as conspicuous for the amiability of his character 
and a high sense of honor as he was for patriotic devotion and 
heroic couraee. 



J. A. HAMBRICK, 

OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, VIRGINIA; MAJOR, 24TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Joseph A. Hambrick, son of Otey and Frances Hambrick, 
was born in Franklin County, Virginia, April 17, 1833. At 
an early age giving evidence of sprightliness, his father, an 
illiterate man, though highly esteemed by all good citizens, 
determined to give him the best education that his limited 
means would admit. After receiving the instructions of the 
best neighborhood schools, he was, when twenty years of age, 
admitted to the Virginia Military Institute, in 1853, as a State 
cadet, and graduated creditably in 1857. 

After returning home he taught school two years, then 
studied law, and entered upon the practice of his profession a 
few months prior to the secession of Virginia. At the first 
call of his State he promptly offered his services; raised a 
company of one hundred and eight men, which was organized 
on the 28th of April, 1861, he being elected captain without 
opposition. This company was mustered into service in 
Lynchburg during May, and sent to Manassas Junction, where 



262 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

it was assigned to the 24th Virginia Infantry, commanded by 
Colonel Jubal A. Early. At first Manassas Captain Hambrick 
was stationed at Blackburn's Ford, and was, consequently, not 
engaged in the action, the battle being on the left, though 
under a constant and heavy artillery fire. 

At Yorktown he was very severely wounded in a skirmish, 
and disabled for several months from active service. Return- 
ing to his regiment upon his recovery, he passed through a 
succession of battles uninjured, until, at Gettysburg, he was 
painfully, though not dangerously, wounded, being struck on 
the head by the splinters torn from a small apple-tree by a 
shell, the same shot passing through his horse, by whose side 
he was standing at the time, bridle in hand. Previous to this 
battle he had been promoted major of the 24th, Lieutenant- 
Colonel J. S. Hairston resigning, and Major Maury being pro- 
moted. Was afterwards engaged in the siege and capture of 
Plymouth, North Carolina; then at Drewry's Bluff, on the 
i6th of May, 1864, where he received the wound of which he 
died, on the 29th of the same month, at the Officers' Hospital 
in Richmond. He was within a few steps of the enemy's 
intrench ments when he fell. 

Major Hambrick was a good disciplinarian. His men were 
strongly attached to him, and he to them. He was ardent in 
his devotion to his country, his idea of duty to her being to 
serve her so long as she needed him. He was always prompt 
and ready for action, and would not tolerate those who failed 
to join him. In pride of character and self-esteem he had 
that measure which would have insured him success in his 
profession. But the strongest, most marked trait of all was 
the devotion with which he revered the memory of his mother, 
who had preceded him by several years to the grave. He 
now rests in peace by her side. 



GEORGE NEWKIRK HAMMOND. 263 



GEORGE NEWKIRK HAMMOND, 

OF BERKELEY COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " B," 1ST VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

Upon the long roll of young Virginians who sealed, with 
the willing sacrifice of life, a more than chivalric devotion to 
their mother State, there can be found few names more de- 
serving of rescue from oblivion than that of George New- 
kirk Hammond, captain of Co. " B," ist Virginia Cavalry. 

The language of unreserved praise, however well merited, 
would be inconsistent with the character of one who was as 
modest and retiring as he was gallant and self-reliant ; yet it 
would be unjust to a memory so warmly and w'idely cher- 
ished by kindred, friends, and comrades, did this brief record 
of Captain Hammond's life fail to recall those virtues which 
made him, living, the honored associate of those brave spirits 
with whom he now shares the glory of a soldier's grave. 

" Kirk" Hammond — for such was the abbreviation of his 
name universally adopted by his family and friends — was 
born on the 8th of June, 1833, at Georgetown, Berkeley 
County, (West) Virginia, amid the fertile fields of the Shen- 
andoah Valley, and at the point where its northern boundary 
is marked by the line of the upper Potomac. His father, 
Dr. Allen C. Hammond, is still living, an esteemed and hon- 
ored citizen, who has often filled public po'sitions of responsi- 
bility and trust; his mother — long since dead — was a Miss 
Newkirk, the daughter of an old and well-known family long 
established in the county of Berkeley. 

After receiving the benefit of the neighboring schools, and 
sharing the instructions of an accomplished tutor at Honey- 
wood, the residence of the late Colonel Colston, Kirk was 
sent to the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington. Of his 
life there little could be gathered from his modest relation of 
his cadet experiences ; but it is known that he became a 



264 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

favorite pupil of Stonewall Jackson, and that he graduated 
with honor. Returning to his native county, he became en- 
gaged in civil pursuits, winning, by his uprightness in busi- 
ness and his kindly discharge of official duty, the general 
good will of his people, — which, with those who knew him 
best, ripened into the stronger sentiments of personal friend- 
ship and affection. 

In 1859, when the prophetic event of ' John Brown's raid 
startled the country, it was his fortune to become directly 
identified with the drama inaugurated by that political maniac 
at Harper's Ferry. There came to Martinsburg, the county 
seat of Berkeley, vague rumors of some mysterious calamity 
which had befallen the people of the neighboring county of 
Jefferson. Alarm-bells were rung; there were hurried arming 
and gathering of men; and a swiftly-organized force pro- 
ceeded to the point of danger and disturbance. Among the 
first who had volunteered for this service was Captain Ham- 
mond; and it was his fortune, almost immediately upon 
reaching the scene, to be stricken down by a rifle-ball fired 
from the " engine house," the last and desperate retreat of 
the fanatical invaders. Thus, before the fearful record of in- 
ternecine strife was begun, the blood was shed by Northern 
hands which was afterwards to be poured out before the lines 
of Richmond in gallant defense of that doomed capital. 

Early in the spring of 1861, when war became an imminent 
reality, and the note of stern preparation was heard every- 
where throughout the State, the authorities of the Institute, 
remembering the promise of the young cadet, sought him out 
with the tender of a comniission in the Virginia forces, then 
in process of organization. Loyal in his allegiance, earnest, if 
modest, in his political convictions, and firm in his apprecia- 
tion of personal duty. Captain Hammond was ready to enter 
upon any field of service to Avhich he might be assigned. Still, 
being at the time first lieutenant of Captain Hoge's troop of 
cavalry, a company organized in Berkeley immediately after 
the Brown raid in 1859, ^'^'^ already enrolled in the military 
service of the State, he naturally preferred the association of 



GEORGE NEWKIRK HAMMOND. 265 

his county men and comrades, and declined the commission 
tendered him by his old preceptors at the Institute. 

Upon the organization of the 1st Virginia Regiment of 
Cavalry, under the distinguished Colonel J. E. B. Stuart, the 
Berkeley company was attached to that command. It came 
to the regiment well equipped and disciplined; its drill and 
efficiency — as no one knows so well as the writer of this 
sketch — being mainly due to the skill and efficiency of its 
young lieutenant. In detached service upon the upper Poto- 
mac it had been taught in the school of the picket and the 
outpost; and afterwards with the regiment, in the active ex- 
periences which followed the invasion of Patterson, and pre- 
ceded the masterly movement of Johnston to Manassas, had 
learned the responsible and dangerous duties which, in the 
movements of modern armies, are devolved upon light cav- 
alry. For all of these Captain Hammond's previous educa- 
tion and habits singularly adapted him. He possessed an 
instinctive knowledge of topography, and had that skill in 
the selection of routes and lines of march — probably peculiar 
to those accustomed from boyhood to the hunt and the chase 
— which found him never at fault, even in an unknown coun- 
try. An additional characteristic, and a most valuable trait 
in an officer, was a quiet thoughtfulness which led him to 
regard every contingenc}^ and guard against every emer- 
gency that could arise. 

But to write the details of Captain Hammond's military 
career would involve the record not only of his brigade and 
division, but that of the cavalry corps of the army of North- 
ern Virginia. It will be enough if this brief memoir trespass 
only so far upon the province of history as to say that he 
was present at every general action prior to his death ; that 
he participated in countless skirmishes which, in a war of 
less grandeur of proportion, would have been considered im- 
portant battles ; and that his services on picket, outpost, 
raid, and reconnoissance belong to that class of every-day 
duty which is always most important in itself, yet not of the 
character which obtains special mention in the reports of a 



266 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

commander, or the official orders of an adjutant-general's 
office. 

Abandoning, therefore, any purpose to follow Captain 
Hammond through the varying career of a Confederate cav- 
alry officer, the limits necessarily assigned to a memoir of his 
life will best be devoted to a brief analysis of his character. 

As a boy, — amid the occupations and pleasures of home- 
life, in a large establishment upon a rich valley farm, — his 
disposition exhibited a calmness and gravity which won from 
the family and servants the familiar and affectionate sobri- 
quet of " the old man." Nothing of severity, of moroseness, 
or melancholy entered into this combination of characteris- 
tics. It was rather a natural soberness of judgment, and an 
unusual development of reflective power, that gave color and 
character to his boyish feelings. But these unusual qualities 
in no degree chilled or obscured the brightness of a genial 
and cheerful nature. 

As a man, — returned from college, and engaged in the 
busy and responsible traits of every-day life, — these traits of 
character continued to influence his conduct, and largely in- 
creased the estimate which an old and somewhat exacting 
community formed of the young citizen and official. 

But it was in a marked degree that their influence could be 
traced in the formation of his character as a soldier. Brave, 
— indeed, deserving the significant and descriptive adjective, 
dashing, — his courage was governed by a calm intelligence, 
which was exhibited in precaution where disaster was to be 
avoided, in boldness where success might be achieved. In 
the rush and excitement of a charge, his was the thought to 
make a dashing troop change the pistol for the sabre, without 
drawing rein or sparing spur. In the camp, the picket, and 
the bivouac he had that quiet care and providence which sol- 
diers learn to value most highly in an officer. Yet, in the 
famous movement around McClellan, none of the rough- 
riders of that wild raid rode with fiercer speed than Kirk Ham- 
mond. And so in the foray into Pennsylvania, in 1862, none 
excelled him in wild enthusiasm and dashing recklessness. 



GEORGE NEWKIRK HAMMOND. 267 

As a son, brother, comrade, and friend, no words can speak 
his praise too warmly. In his immediate household there 
grew up a tender chord of sympathy which bound him to all 
with a strength the force of which could only be known when 
that chord was rudely severed by the hand of death. Even 
now, when the turf of Hollywood, which rests lightly upon 
his grave, has so often changed from spring-time verdure to 
the sere of autumn, the emotions which the mention of his 
name awakens find their only fit expression in tears. Even 
friendship dare not intrude upon sorrow so sacred. 

Rarely, in all that may be truthfully written of men, can 
the trait of unselfishness be more justly recorded. When he 
was attached by the ties of friendship, no man was ever truer 
or more devoted. His friend's honor was as warmly cher- 
ished as his own. With him friendship took the form of con- 
stant service, — never the guise of frequent profession. Well 
and warmly does the writer of this sketch remember how 
every care of an anxious command was lightened by the 
thoughtful and considerate lieutenant. Never can he forget 
many acts of devotion and self-sacrifice which, at this day, 
would seem too romantic for recital. 

But the limited space necessarily accorded to this memoir 
will not permit a more elaborate notice of its lamented sub- 
ject. It is to the general history of a gigantic war that the 
future must look to learn, by inference, the individual careers 
of the actors. The examples of personal gallantry and devo- 
tion were so multiplied in that great struggle, that biography 
has been merged into history. Achievements which once 
made men distinguished in the estimation of their fellows, in 
it became the daily and habitual routine of hundreds ; and it 
is only from the recollection of friends, and the fireside remi- 
niscences of surviving comrades, that we may learn all that 
we would gladly know of those whose lives the necessities of 
history must pass by unrecorded. 

The attack upon Richmond, in May, 1864, is fresh in our 
memories. It was the menace of the result which, in 1865, 
was accomplished, and even then was alarming to those who 



268 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

were aware how weak were the defenses of the city. Indeed, 
its repulse astonished many who knew how much a bold and 
energetic assault might have effected. But the successful 
defeat of the enemy was bought with the price of much pre- 
cious blood. The part — sudden and unexpected as it was — 
borne by the command of General Stuart in the movements 
consequent upon that attack will not be forgotten. It was 
then and there that the great commander met that glorious 
fate which has been consecrated in song, and recorded with 
admiring sympathy even in the pages of hostile history. 
The glory of that fatal day was shared by many who had 
long followed the white plumes of their leader. Among them 
was poor Kirk Hammond. Directed to hold an important 
position, he deemed it necessary to charge an advancing force 
of the enemy. He said to his nearest comrades, "I must 
lead you to death !" But the order rang forth in trumpet 
notes, "Forward! Quick trot! Charge!" It was literally 
unto death. Badly wounded, he was thrown from his horse ; 
yet, while lying by the roadside, he said to those who sought 
to remove him, " No ! we can hold the ground." While thus 
prostrate he was struck by a piece of shell, and remained 
bleeding and suffering for hours, almost in the track of regi- 
ment upon regiment of the enemy, dashing by in rapid ad- 
vance. By the kindly care of a Federal surgeon — whose 
name is unfortunately forgotten — he was removed to a place 
of safety, and there left, at his own request, to die. Later in 
the evening he was discovered by a detachment of our ambu- 
lance corps, and removed to the officers' hospital at Rich- 
mond, where he died on Sunday, the i6th of May, 1864, 
sinking into death quietly and calmly as to a night's repose. 

He sleeps his last sleep in Hollywood, and the ever- 
mourning waters of the James chant their perpetual requiem 
to no truer or braver soldier in that many-peopled city of the 

lamented dead. 

Colonel John Blair Hoge. 



JULIAN B. HARDY.— T. L. BARMAN. 269 

JULIAN B. HARDY, 

OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA; SECOND LIEUTENANT, CRESCENT REGIMENT. 

Julian B. Hardy, son of P. A. Hardy, Esq., of New Orleans, 
Louisiana, was born in that city on the i8th of March, 1842. 
In August, 1858, he entered the Virginia MiHtary Institute, 
together with his younger brother, H. F. Hardy, and made 
such excellent progress in his studies that at the end of his 
first session he stood third distinguished in his class. During 
the next session the brothers were called home, and at the 
opening of hostilities Julian enlisted in the Crescent Regi- 
ment, commanded by Colonel Marshall J. Smith, and served 
with it, faithfully performing his duty as a soldier. For con- 
spicuous bravery at Shiloh he was promoted to a lieutenancy, 
which position he held until killed at Murfreesboro', Tennes- 
see, January 20, 1862, in the twentieth year of his age. 



T. L. HARMAN, 

OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, STAUNTON ARTILLERY. 

Thomas L. Harman, son of Lewis and Sarah Jane Harman, 
was born in Staunton on the 14th of October, 1831. Receiving 
his earlier education in his native place, on the 24th of July, 
1848, he entered the Virginia Military Institute, where he re- 
mained a few months; then resigning his cadetship he went 
to California, where he remained a little more than a year. 
Returning to Staunton he went into business with his brothers; 
was an energetic and successful business man, and at the early 
age of thirty years had laid the foundation of a large fortune. 
At the organization of the " Staunton Artillery," in the winter 



270 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL 



of i860, he joined that company and was elected its first lieu- 
tenant, under Captain (afterwards General) John D. Imboden. 
Lieutenant Harman left Staunton with his company on the 
17th of April, i86i,.and was present at the occupation of Har- 
per's Ferry by the Virginia troops. Soon after this event he 
was detached with two of the guns of his battery to guard the 
bridge over the Potomac at Shepherdstown, and acquitted 
himself with credit in that separate command. Rejoining his 
command at Harper's Ferry, in May, he retreated with the 
army under General J. E. Johnston to Winchester after the 
evacuation of Harper's Ferry, and thence proceeded with the 
army to Manassas Junction, when General Johnston marched 
to reinforce General Beauregard after the battle of Bull Run, 
on the 18th of July, 1861. He participated with his battery, 
which had been assigned to the brigade of General Barnard E. 
Bee, who was killed on that day. In the battle of Manassas 
Plains, July 21, 1861, Bee's Brigade was stationed on the 
extreme left, and became engaged with the enemy early in the 
morning; besides the irreparable loss of its gallant commander, 
it suffered severely in losses of killed and wounded. Lieu- 
tenant Harman's battery made for itself on that memorable day 
a name and fame which it sustained throughout the entire war. 
Lieutenant Harman himself behaved with the greatest skill, 
coolness, and gallantry. After the battle of Manassas, his 
battery being ordered into camp at Bristow Station, four 
miles south of Manassas Junction, he obtained, during the 
month of August, a furlough to return to his home in Staun- 
ton, for the purpose of arranging his large and extensive 
business, which he had left on a few hours' notice. During 
his stay at home of two weeks, he complained of being 
slightly unwell ; he returned to camp, however; but after a 
few days his disease developing symptoms of typhoid fever, 
he was again granted a furlough, and returned to his home, 
where he died on the 15th of September, 1861. His service 
was short, but it was well done. In his one battle he had 
showed his metal, and 'twas true to the cause in which he 
had embarked. 



CARTER HENRY HARRISON. 



271 



CARTER HENRY HARRISON, 

OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, I ITH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

The subject of the present brief memoir was the youngest 
son of the late Carter H. Harrison, of Clifton, Cumberland 
County, Virginia. His mother, Miss Fisher, daughter of the 
late Edward Fisher, of Richmond. The best blood of the 
Old Dominion ran in his veins, — the blood of the Randolphs, 
the Carys, the Carters, and by his mother's side of the Hu- 
guenot family of the Amblers. He was born July 9, 1831, 
and fell mortally wounded at Bull Run, July 18, 1861. In his 
short life there was but little that was strikingly eventful in 
the ordinary acceptation of the term until near its bright close ; 
although in every step of such a career as his, could the path 
be clearly traced along which he advanced from childhood to 
youth, from youth to manhood, developing and perfecting his 
sterling character, how much would we find to interest and 
instruct ! 

But our limits are restricted, and it is all needless here to 
trace more than an outline of the life of any one of the heroic 
alumni of the Institute, who in their lives and deaths have 
reflected honor on their alma mater. 

Major Harrison enjoyed the best educational advantages 
that the country afforded, — at the school of Mr. Pike Powers, 
of Staunton, at the Episcopal High School, with Rev. Mr. 
Dalrymple, at the Virginia Military Institute, and at William 
and Mary College, where he was a student of law. 

He " remembered his Creator in the days of his youth." 
While at the High School, at the age of fourteen, he became 
a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. The child of 
pious parents, he had doubtless often been filled with aspira- 
tions after the " higher life." We learn from his mother that 
before this time he frequently manifested deep sorrow and 



272 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



contrition for his sins. So it is that, from the time of his public 
profession of allegiance to God, "the trumpet gave no uncer- 
tain sound." Religion, as far as mortal eye could see, in- 
fluenced almost his every word, thought, and act, — moulding 
him anew, rounding and symmetrizing his character. 

On leaving the High School, his predilections, fortunately 
{ydXh.QV, providentiallj), led him to the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute. Here were developed a love of order, methodical habits, 
thoroughness of execution in whatever he undertook, and 
here too was matured that strong military bias which was 
so salient a feature in his character when circumstances arose 
to allow its exhibition. Retiring and gentle in demeanor, 
with a heart tender and sympathetic, he yet possessed in a 
marked degree the quick comprehension, the decisive will, the 
tone of command, of the born soldier, and a genuine love of 
the military profession. This was so evident in his bearing 
as to call forth frequent remark. 

He completed his course at the Virginia Military Institute 
with honor, gaining the respect and love of all with whom he 
came in contact ; tokens of which are frequently and touch- 
ingly manifested in acts of respect to his memory, and in 
attentions to those who inherit his name and "good report." 

Being very young at the time of graduating at the Virginia 
Military Institute (just nineteen), he soon after entered the 
college of William and Mary as a law-student, — probably with 
no definite idea of adopting the law as a profession. After a 
year passed there, he located in Richmond, and engaged in 
mercantile pursuits. 

In February, 1852, he married Miss Alice, daughter of the 
late John G. Williams, Esq. 

A residence of a year or two in Richmond convinced Mr. 
Harrison that the confinement of city life was prejudicial to 
his health, and in 1854 he removed to Cumberland County, 
Virginia, and purchased a farm not far from the home of his 
youth, — the old family-seat. Here in the quiet pursuits of 
agriculture his life flowed on peacefully, scarcely a ripple dis- 
turbed its serenity, and the instincts of the soldier were con- 



CARTER HENRY HARRISON. 



273 



cealed under the energy of the farmer. Signally blessed in 
his domestic relations, and fulfilling well all the duties of his 
station, he seemed perfectly satisfied with his lot. 

But he was not idle or " unprofitable." The striking fea- 
tures of his character were daily manifested: restless energy, 
perseverance, strength of will, — " whatever his hands found 
to do he did with all his might," as well in his ordinary 
avocations as in his higher calling as a " soldier of Christ." 
Deeply impressed with a sense of his duties and obligations, 
he was not content with anything short of their fulfillment. 
Professing Christianity was not sufficient for him, — he acted it 
so that his religion was " known and read of all men" around 
him. Throwing aside the reserve which was natural to him, he 
visited the sick, prayed by the bedside of the dying, and at the 
call of friends performed the last offices at the grave, — for he 
had come to be regarded almost in the light of a consecrated 
minister, so loudly did his unassuming virtues speak. 

Nothing that a biographer could say, not the most glowing 
eulogy that could be penned, would so well show the traits of 
character I have endeavored to portray as a few extracts from 
his letters, his unstudied words, his sacred thoughts, confided 
to the one dearest to him of all on earth. With this end in 
view, to illustrate his conscientiousness and deep sense of his 
Christian obligations, it is allowable to draw aside the veil 
and expose to other eyes than those for which they were 
intended these utterances of his heart. 

The following bears date December 26, i860. The father 
is writing after his little children have been put to bed : 

..." Dear little things ! What intense delight we feel in 
their very existence ! How the heart thrills with pleasure 
even in pulling a little cape over a tiny hand, drawing a 
bonnet more closely over the dear face, or pressing them 
tighter to your heart, and bending over to shield them from 
every breath of the chill air! But we must not forget that 
this is like all earthly comforts, a fleeting one. The seed-time 
is short, and if we would not have that dread 'Enemy' sow 
tares in the fertile soil of their young hearts and minds we 

18 



2/4 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



must strive to have it occupied by good seed, and we must be 
very diligent in cultivating them. We must be ever viindful 
what a solemn vow we have made for them, and by example as 
well as instnictio7i bring them in the right zvay." . . . 

Anticipating, and quoting from another of later date, as a 
touching instance of his beautiful resignation, I cannot refrain 
from giving it : 

..." Count up your mercies ; think of the departed in- 
fants as living, smiling, happy, but just gone before us and 
awaiting us. Think of them cheerfully! When you get able 
to go back, go home in peace ! thankful that, though one of 
the flowers has been transplanted from it to bloom in heaven, 
you may be happy in cultivating the rest." . . . 

Thus in tranquil usefulness passed the years with Carter 
Harrison until the autumn of 1859, when the John Brown 
murders, countenanced by so large a faction of the people of 
the Northern States, heralded the great "civil war." In com- 
mon with all reflecting men he saw that a crisis was approach- 
ing, and that it was the part of wisdom and patriotism to be 
prepared for it, and he girded himself for the conflict. 

Now his military training came into requisition. A volun- 
teer company was being formed in his neighborhood, and 
Carter Harrison was elected captain by acclamation, being 
recognized by all as the fittest man for the position, not alone 
because of his knowledge of tactics, but because of his native 
qualifications for command. 

He threw all the force of his ardent nature into the work of 
organizing and disciplining his company, and succeeded as few 
other men would have done. Firm, patient, indefatigable, he 
worked on until the " Black Eagle Riflemen" (the name he 
bestowed) became one of the best-disciplined companies in the 
army of which it soon became a part. It was one of the first 
in the State to tender its services, and on the 23d of April, 
1 86 1, immediately after the passage of the ordinance of seces- 
sion. Captain Harrison conducted it to Richmond. After a 
short stay at the camp of instruction, the rendezvous and drill- 
ground of all troops arriving in Richmond, the "Black Eagle" 



CARTER HENRY HARRISON. 



275 



company was enrolled in the i8th Regiment Virginia Infantry 
and soon dispatched to Manassas Junction. 

But a movement had already been made by friends of Cap- 
tain Harrison, who knew his fitness for higher command, to 
put forward his claims to promotion, — advancement which 
he would never solicit for himself, — and in June he received 
his commission as major, and was assigned to the iith Regi- 
ment Virginia Volunteers. 

He parted from his old comrades with unfeigned regret. 
Strong social ties were to be broken, and the fine company 
which he had, as it were, created, which had come to be 
almost identified with him, he was now to leave. But he was 
not the man to waste time in useless repining, and, without 
doubt, soon found happiness in the discharge of his official 
duties and those voluntary, self-imposed ones which his zeal- 
ous charity led him to discharge. His loving attentions to 
the sick in hospital (casual allusions to which we shall find in 
his letters) were most gratefully spoken of to the writer by a 
private of Major Harrison's regiment, and we have the con- 
current testimony of officers and men to the "beauty of holi- 
ness" manifested in his daily walk and conversation. We have 
his letters, genuine reflexes of his inmost soul. 

Let his purity, patriotism, and self-abnegation be judged by 
them ! 

On the 8th of July he writes : " Let us not, however, give 
way to forebodings, or distrust the goodness and the power of 
our kind Father. Let us commit our cause to Him in humble 
confidence, and let us labor and strive to be faithful in serving 
Him, because He hath loved us and given His Son for us. 
Yesterday we had services and excellent addresses in the 
morning and at night from a Methodist preacher. I trust that 
while uniting in these services I experienced a ' refreshing 
from the Lord,' that my faith was increased, my love warmed 
up, and I was better prepared by the exercises to go on my 
way rejoicing. 

" Could we get a slight glimpse into the inner life and his- 
tory of many around us we would think less of our own trials. 



276 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

The light-hearted youth engaged in his game of cards heeds 
not the agony of the young soldier in the next tent writhing 
with pain. Few, even of the good and kind-hearted, ever see 
the numbers of men in the hospitals (so called) suffering in 
silence, with no tender hand to supply the comforts and health- 
ful food so much needed for their recovery, and only able to 
make faint exertions to keep off the myriads of flies which 
annoy them. 

" This morning I chanced to read a letter that made my 
heart ache. It was written by a daughter to her father, telling 
him that the doctor had told her she might not live more than 
a few days, and coiild not live more than a few weeks, and be- 
seeching him to grant her dying request and come to see her 
once again. His application was refused ! and hard as it was, 
I can't blame the authorities." 

" Sunday morning. — Our sermon was from Psalms xxxi. 15. 
It was a very admirable one: it touched upon that question 
much discussed at this time, — the taking of the oath of alle- 
giance by prisoners captured by the Federal forces, — and dem- 
onstrated most clearly the duty of Christian men not to do so. 
I determined that if I should get into their hands, by the help 
of God I woul(;J never purchase my liberty at such a price ! 

" 7 P.M. — Read a chapter, and prayed with some of the sick 
in the hospital." 

" We little realize the true nature of the circumstances in 
which we are placed, or we would walk more circumspectly, 
' watching unto prayer.' Though, in truth, the stream which 
separates life and eternity is one of uniform width, no wider 
in one place than in any other. The will of God bounds our 
territory in all directions." 

"July II. — When I hear of these engagements, I am much 
tempted to murmur, because I could not have been there; but 
I know full well by past experience that I not only do not 
know what is best for me, but I often mistake as to what will 
be most agreeable to me, and hence I desire to place myself 
entirely at the disposal of my heavenly Father, knowing that 
if the first bullet that I hear reaches my own body, or if, on 



CARTER HENRY HARRISON. 277 

the other hand, I should return home without seeing the flash 
of a gun, it will all be best for me in time, and best for me in 
eternity." 

In another letter he says : " My most intimate friend is 
the lieutenant-colonel of the regiment, Mr. David Funsten.* 
I am as much in his tent as my own, and we talk over our 
home affairs, — about our wives, little ones, etc." 

And now the end draws near. We have his letters to 
within four or five days of the long-expected battle, — and 
their tone is ever the same. They tell us of a man with his 
loins girded and his lamp burning, calmly awaiting orders 
from the " Great Captain." 

The following is from the lastf (I believe) letter he ever 
wrote : 

"July 13. — I would not have my wife, or any lady in whom 
I felt an interest, about a camp where we are daily expecting 
an attack, with 'all its confusion, danger, and discomfort, on 
any consideration. It is a cause for daily thanks with me 
that all dear to me, and unable to take care of themselves, are 
safe among friends and home comforts, and out of the reach 
of immediate danger. And daily do I trust that it may not 
be permitted the ruthless invader to advance one step nearer 
to all that men hold dear. If allowed to do so, we will fight 
until we drop in our tracks, before we will yield one foot 
more of our soil. ... I shall put my sword, etc., all in readi- 
ness before going to bed, and commit myself and all my dear 
ones to the care of Him ' without whom not a sparrow falleth 
to the ground.' " 

The rest shall be told by others. In General Beaure- 



* No apology need be made, I trust, for introducing here the name of that 
well-known Christian gentleman and patriot. It was brought in to illustrate, in 
the case of Major Harrison, the old adage, " Noscitur a sociis.'" 

t A letter from Major Harrison's widow says, " You speak of the letter of 
the 13th and 14th being the last received, — this is a mistake. I had one of the 
I5lh and i6th, — breathing the same patriotism and devotion to our cause, and 
resignation to God's will, — and when I opened his portfolio, I found another 
letter commenced on the 17th. . . . Alas ! he tried to prepare me." 



278 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

gard's official report of the battle of Bull Run, on the i8th 
of July, 1 86 1, he says, — 

"An accomplished, promising officer, Major Carter H. 
Harrison, nth Regiment Virginia Volunteers, was lost to 
the service while leading two companies of his regiment 
against the enemy; he fell, twice shot, mortally wounded." 

The Rev. J. C. Cranberry, of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, then chaplain of the nth Regiment, wrote to the 
Christian Advocate an account of the battle, of which he was 
an eye-witness : 

..." The day wore on. I moved among our soldiers, 
and had a happy conversation with some of them ; by the 
dying bed of one of these, Major Carter Harrison, I in a 
few hours was seated, and the next morning committed his 
body to the grave, — earth to earth, dust to dust, ashes to 
ashes. He spoke of his faith in Providence, and the answers 
to prayer which he daily received. . . . 

..." The balance of the day I spent chiefly with Major 
H., whose agony of body was intense beyond description, 
but his mind was stayed on Christ. He was a brave, gentle 
spirit, formed for friendship and domestic affection, faithful in 
duty to God and man, loved by all who knew him, and not 
least by the soldiers he commanded. Gallantly leading two 
of our companies at the post of danger, he fell in the dis- 
charge of his duty, and his soul is now with God." 

I can add nothing to this eloquent and feeling tribute ; but 
to those who might be disposed to question the ways of Provi- 
dence, and to regard such a life as incomplete, — cut off ere its 
prime, — I would quote the words of Sir Thomas Browne : 

" Since wisdom is the gray hair and an unspotted life old 
age . . . the son in this sense may outlive the father, and 
none be climacterically old. . . . He that hath early arrived 
unto the measure of a perfect stature in Christ, hath already 
fulfilled the prime and longest intention of his being ; and one 
day lived after the perfect rule of piety is to be preferred be- 
fore sinning immortality." 

Colonel Robert Harrison. 



T. G. HART. 279 

T. G. HART, 

OF WARRENTON, VIRGINIA ; SERGEANT-MAJOR, 17TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

T. Goodwin Hart, son of John R. Hart, Esq., of Warren- 
ton, Virginia, was born in 1839. In the latter part of July, 
1857, he entered the Virginia Military Institute, where he re- 
mained until the spring of 1861, when, just before the time for 
the completion of his course, he went to Richmond with the 
corps to perform service as a drill-master. His diploma was 
given to him upon the fair-grounds of that city, afterwards 
Camp Lee. Upon the disbanding of the cadets, he was com- 
missioned lieutenant in the Provisional Army of Virginia, in 
which service he continued until the Provisional Army was 
turned over to the Confederacy. He then entered the service 
as a private (with two of his brothers, one of whom is now 
buried in the same cemetery with him, and the other still suf- 
fering with a wound) in Co, " K," 17th Virginia Infantry, and 
remained with this regiment during the rest of his life ; was 
appointed sergeant-major some time after he joined; was se- 
verely wounded in the second Manassas battle, being obliged 
to go home on furlough for several weeks. Upon his return to 
his command he participated in all the hard service which gave 
such an enviable reputation to the gallant 17th, until the middle 
of May, 1864, when in the battle of Drewry's Bluff he received 
his death-wound, a ball striking him in the mouth and pass- 
ing into the neck. Being carried to Chimborazo Hospital, in 
Richmond, about two weeks after the battle, the ball was ex- 
tracted from the back of his neck, causing immediate death. 
His remains rest with many of his companions in Hollywood 
Cemetery, a monument to the " Lost Cause." 



28o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ALVA C. HARTSFIELD, 

OF WAKE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA ; PRIVATE, CORPS OF CADETS. 

Alva Curtis Hartsfield was born in Wake County, North 
Carolina, in 1844. He was the son of Wesley Hartsfield. At an 
early age he showed considerable aptitude for study, and gave 
evidence of fine mind. Truthful, honest, and of great integ- 
rity, he was an obedient and dutiful son. In 1862 he was sent 
to Chapel Hill, the university of his State. In this institution 
he took a prominent position in his classes. In April, 1863, 
young Hartsfield was appointed cadet in the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, and matriculated early in this month. Was so 
well advanced in his studies as to be enabled to pass into the 
third class in July with a creditable stand in the upper half of 
the class. Participating in the battle of New Market, May 15, 
1864, he went with the corps to the vicinity of Richmond. 
While encamped here he was taken sick, and was carried to 
the hospital. Evincing great anxiety to go to his home, he 
was allowed a furlough. In his anxiety to reach home he 
attempted to walk from Richmond to Petersburg ; the effort 
was too great: he sank by the wayside exhausted, remaining 
there for some time, weak, ill, and helpless, until discovered 
by some passers-by. Taken up by these strangers, he was 
carried to the hospital in Petersburg, where, after lingering for 
several days, he died, aged twenty years. 



JOHN BETH. 281 



JOHN HETH, 

OF POWHATAN COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, 1ST VIRGINIA (" IRISH") 

BATTALION. 

John Heth, son of Beverly Heth and Virginia Gwathmey, 
was born in Powhatan County, Virginia, on the 12th of April, 
1839. He lived, however, in Richmond from the time of the 
death of his father until he entered the Institute, in July, 1858. 
When the war opened, Cadet Heth, then a member of the 
graduating class, went into service with the corps of cadets. 
After fulfilling the duties of a drill-master at the camp of in- 
struction, near Richmond, he was commissioned by Governor 
Letcher as second lieutenant in the ist Virginia Regulars, after- 
wards known as the Irish Battalion, which served during the 
early part of the war in Western Virginia. His first duty after 
being commissioned was to go up the Covington and Ohio 
Railroad and bring down alone two hundred of the Irish 
laborers to Richmond to be used as recruits. The successful 
manner in which he accomplished this undertaking was highly 
complimented by his superior officer, as he had gotten every 
man to Richmond without a single case of drunkenness, and 
without a fight during the trip. Lieutenant Heth continued 
in service with this battalion until the hard-fought battle of 
Kernstown, when he received his mortal wound. Some dis- 
tance in advance of his men, cheering them on to battle, he 
fell pierced with the fatal shot. For some time he lingered in 
agony, but death came finally to relieve him of his suffering. 

His grave is near Newtown, where so many of his comrades 
sleep who gave up their lives that day. 



282 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

HENRY W. HUNTER, 

OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA ; SECOND LIEUTENANT, C. S. ORDNANCE. 

Henry Woodis Hunter was born in Norfolk, Virginia, on 
the 7th of February, 1842. Attending school in Norfolk 
during his boyhood, he gave evidence of a vigorous mind, 
marked integrity, and manly honor. At the age of sixteen, 
in July, 1858, Harry Hunter was sent to the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute. His attainments enabled him to enter the third 
class, and at the close of his first session, July 4, 1859, his 
name was the second of the three in his class required to be 
reported to the Legislature as distinguished in general merit. 
The next session he rose to the head of his class, and retained 
this position throughout the course, becoming the first distin- 
guished graduate of the class of 1861. Cadet Hunter was 
first quartermaster-sergeant, and afterwards quartermaster, of 
the corps of cadets. When the corps was ordered to Rich- 
mond, in April, 1861, Cadet Hunter, then a member of the 
first class, went with them, and fulfilled his duties as a drill- 
master of the raw recruits carefully and well, his knowledge 
of tactics, in which study he had particularly excelled, fitting 
him admirably for this work. From Richmond he was sent 
to Norfolk, where he remained only a few weeks, when he 
was ordered back to the Institute, where, with some six 
or eight other officers, he gave instruction to a number of 
young men in the military art. The Institute at this time 
was not in active operation, but this was simply a tempo- 
rary school for the purpose of giving practice in the duties of 
the soldier to those who had had no opportunity of military 
education. A large number of young men, among them many 
from the University of Virginia, took advantage of this, and 
through its instrumentality many valuable officers were pre- 
pared for the service. While in the performance of these im- 
portant duties, the subject of this sketch contracted typhoid 



A. E. JACKSON. 283 

fever, and was granted a furlough to visit his home in Norfolk. 
During his sickness he received his commission as lieutenant 
in the C. S. Army, and on the expiration of his furlough 
was assigned to ordnance duty at the Richmond Arsenal, 
Entering upon his work here, he continued in its faithful per- 
formance until stricken down by sickness, superinduced, as 
believed by his physicians, by his recent attack of typhoid. 
His sickness was fatal. Early in the morning of the 15th of 
January, 1862, he died of congestion of the brain, aged nine- 
teen years and eleven months. 

The record of so young a soldier must be of necessity brief. 
Of his character we give the testimony of the letter making 
the official announcement of his death, written by Lieutenant 
(afterwards Colonel) Briscoe G.Baldwin: "Lieutenant Hun- 
ter, by his amiability, intelligence, and gentlemanly deport- 
ment, had endeared himself to every person connected with 
the post. He was a most promising young officer. I have 
lost a noble comrade, the service a gallant soldier." 



A. E. JACKSON, 

OF TENNESSEE ; ADJUTANT, 29TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY. 

Alfred Eugene Jackson, sixth son of General A. E. and 
Seraphina C. Jackson, was born on the 29th of May, 1843, at 
Tempest Hill, Washington County, Tennessee, then the resi- 
dence of his father. His mother was the youngest daughter 
of General Nathaniel Taylor, a native of Rockbridge County, 
Virginia. Eugene's ancestors, both paternal and maternal, 
served and held conspicuous positions in the army of their 
country, one being a lieutenant in the Revolution, and another 
a brigadier-general in the war of 18 12. The boyhood of the 
noble youth whose character we are endeavoring to portray, 
was marked by perfect gentleness and amiability, the most 
cheerful and affectionate obedience to his parents, and a loving 



284 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

desire to make his sisters and brothers happy, and to con- 
tribute to the enjoyment of the whole family. As he grew 
up, his dignified and courtly manners, his manly personal 
appearance, and obliging and happy disposition not only en- 
deared him to his friends, but made him a general favorite 
among his acquaintances. Eugene entered the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute on the 2 1st of July, i860, and was placed by his 
father under the immediate care of Colonel Thomas J. Jackson 
(afterwards General Stonewall Jackson), a relative, then pro- 
fessor of natural philosophy in the Institute. When, in April, 
1 86 1, the Governor of Virginia ordered out the corps of cadets 
to drill the troops who were being assembled at Richmond in 
anticipation of the secession of the State, though the call did 
not include cadets from other States, Eugene volunteered 
immediately, and proceeded with the corps to the camp of 
instruction in the vicinity of Richmond, where he performed 
the duties of drill-master until the corps was disbanded. Re- 
turning then to Tennessee, he assisted in raising and organ- 
izing the 29th Regiment of Tennessee Volunteers, of which 
command he was appointed adjutant, though scarcely eighteen 
years of age, declining to receive any higher position. He 
performed the duties of this office carefully and faithfully, to 
the entire satisfaction of both superiors and subordinates, until 
the last week of his life. At the battle of Fishing Creek, 
Kentucky, January 19, 1862, he had his horse killed under 
him, and was within a few feet of the lamented General Zolli- 
coffer when he was killed. His colonel being dangerously 
wounded, and obliged to leave the field, in the absence of 
other officers the command of the regiment devolved upon 
Adjutant Jackson. The Confederate forces being repulsed, 
he remained on the field of battle until the last moment, en- 
deavoring to get off the wounded to prevent their falling into 
the hands of the enemy, and still kept behind his command 
until they were safely landed on the south side of Cumberland 
River. The army having lost everything like tents, camp- 
equipage, and blankets in the disastrous affair at Mill Spring, 
retreated, with many hardships and intense suffering, through 



A. E. JACKSON. 285 

Tennessee to Corinth, Mississippi. On this march young 
Jackson suffered severely, walking, his horse having been 
killed, and sleeping night after night on the damp, cold 
ground, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, with no 
blankets and but scanty clothing. Yet no word of complaint 
passed his lips ; bravely and cheerfully he bore it all, willing 
and glad to do anything for the cause in which he was 
engaged. Even when broken down by fatigue and exposure, 
his death-sickness upon him, he refused to relinquish his 
command, but continued performing the duties which de- 
volved upon him until nature could stand it no longer. A 
severe cold which he had taken, being greatly aggravated by 
exposure, assuming a fatal form, he was carried to the house 
of Dr. E. S. Miller, in Middleton, Rutherford County, Tennes- 
see. Here some kind friends, Mr. and Mrs. Hoss, his early 
preceptors, watched over him with every attention until he 
died, on the 6th of March, 1862, in the nineteenth year of 
his age, after only a few days' absence from his command. 
In his delirium during his last sickness his mind would 
constantly revert to the army; every sound that he heard 
he Avould fancy to be an order for him to go. When the 
kind friend who was watching at his bedside, with an in- 
terest as tender as a mother's, would tell him that he was 
too sick to get up, and would ask him if he knew her, he 
would reply, "Yes, yes, I know you, and you are very kind; 
but you must let me go, or I will be shot as a deserter, and 
you will be the cause ; you must let me go !" and then, as he 
became quieter, he would say, "Where is*mother?" "My 
mother, — speak to my mother !" Breathing that loved name 
until the last, he quietly passed away. Thus died the second 
of five brothers who fought in defense of Southern liberty, — 
the elder sacrificed on the altar of his country, the younger, 
emulating his example, offered up his life in the cause of free- 
dom. The surviving brothers and their noble father served 
until the last battle was fought, and only surrendered when 
the cause was hopeless. Few nobler men have lived than 
Eugene Jackson. Though cut off before he had attained to 



286 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

manhood, he had proved himself a true gentleman, Christian, 
and soldier. Every one loved him. We know of nothing 
that could show how truly he deserved it than the words of a 
loved cousin, " Even the children all loved him, and remem- 
ber the {&\v days he spent with us this winter." As illustrative 
of his truthfulness and moral rectitude, one incident shall be 
given. When he entered the Institute, he promised his father 
not to use tobacco in any form, or intoxicating liquors, nor to 
play cards or other games for money, nor to indulge in pro- 
fane language at any time. This promise, he told a friend a 
few hours before his death, he religiously kept. As a Chris- 
tian, his piety was remarkable : not superficial, but strong, 
deep, and loving. Though he greatly loved camp-life, he 
could never approve of, much less enter into, the profanity 
and other sinful habits so prevalent among the soldiers, and 
he often said that the utter ungodliness that was so common 
around him was a source of a great concern to him, and that 
among his most cherished hopes was the one that every man 
in his command might be a pattern of sobriety and good 
morals. The Sunday before he died he asked for a Bible, 
and read as long as he could, when, too weak to read more 
himself, he asked that the book might still be read to him. 

He was a soldier every inch of him, brave, efficient, strictly 
attentive to duty. His commands were firm, but not haughty, 
and he gave them in such a way that men yielded not only a 
ready, but a willing, obedience. 

We close this imperfect sketch of his life with an extract 
from a letter of his commanding officer. Colonel Samuel 
Powell : 

" I look back but a few days and I see him as he was in 
our command, so youthful, so hopeful, so cheerful; ever 
ready to undergo any fatigue or hardship. I can scarcely 
realize that I will see him no more on earth. He was my 
friend; I loved him as a younger brother. The middle-aged, 
as well as the younger, soldiers respected, obeyed, and loved 
him. Our regiment was much attached to him. We have 
lost an officer whose place cannot easily be filled. He was 



JAMES H. JAMESON. 287 

generous almost to a fault; a stranger to fear; ever at his 
post ; always ready to promptly discharge his duty. Few 
men of his age had the power of command over men that he 
had. I have seen him under the enemy's fire twice ; no fear 
blanched his cheek as he moved here and there amidst the 
balls, but cool courage was depicted on his countenance; and 
when a retreat was ordered, he was among the last to leave 
the battle-field. He never had to be reminded of a duty or 
order that he had to execute, but all was performed at the 
right time and in the right way. Our country has lost in him 
one of her most valuable sons. I had predicted a career of 
usefulness for him ; but, alas ! just entering the threshold the 
grave closes over him." 



JAMES H. JAMESON, 

OF CULPEPER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

James H. Jameson, son of E. Jameson, was born in Culpeper 
County, Virginia, in 1820. Entered the Virginia Military In- 
stitute on the nth of November, 1839, the day of its incep- 
tion, and graduated in 1842; afterwards became a lawyer, and 
practiced his profession in Culpeper County until the war. 
Entered service as a captain in the Virginia Infantry ; was 
severely wounded at the battle of Drainsville; was taken 
prisoner in 1863, and after a long imprisonment received his 
parole, but died on his way home, in Richmond, 1864. 



288 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



THOMAS G. JARRELL, 

OF MERCER COUNTY, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT, CO. " B," 36TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

Thomas G. Jarrell, son of George W. Jarrell, Esq., was 
born in Tazewell County, Virginia, on the 17th of November, 
1840. His father, originally a citizen of Madison County, had 
just moved to Tazewell before the birth of the subject of this 
sketch. When Tazewell County was subdivided, the portion 
in which Mr. Jarrell lived became Mercer County, in which 
county he still lives. At an early age Thomas was sent to the 
county day-school, situated at the foot of East River Mountain, 
on the Cumberland Gap Turnpike ; he proved to be a sprightly 
boy, receiving several prizes at the end of his first session. 
Three sessions he remained at this school, still continuing to 
improve, then was sent by his father for two sessions to a 
school in Pearisburg, Giles County, and finally for one session 
to Jefifersonville, Tazewell. At all these schools his success 
was so great that he attracted the attention of several promi- 
nent gentlemen of his district, and upon their recommendation 
was appointed State cadet in the Virginia Military Institute 
from the tenth congressional district at the meeting of the 
Board of Visitors in 1859. I*^ September of this year he 
entered the Institute. His stay here was shortened to eight 
or nine months by a serious affection of the leg, which forced 
him to go home. After it had nearly become well he went to 
the West, remaining until he received the news of the with- 
drawal of his native State from the Federal compact, and of 
the threatened invasion of her soil. Immediately setting out 
for his home, he worked his way along with considerable diffi- 
culty, passing in several instances through camps of the enemy 
in Ohio and Illinois. At length arrived at Charleston, Kanawha 
County, Virginia, he saw for the first time the " boys in gray." 
So much was his enthusiasm aroused that he offered his ser- 



THOMAS G. JARRELL. 289 

vices as a volunteer to the first officer he met, who proved to 
be Captain McHenry, of the " Boone Rangers," a company of 
one hundred rough, hardy mountaineers, who did not know 
what fear was ; most of whom had been raised as hunters, and 
could use their rifles with wonderful accuracy. Young Jar- 
RELL, nothing daunted by the huge size and rough appearance 
of his new comrades, all total strangers to him, went to work, 
soon adapted himself to their ways and customs, and finding, 
by intercourse with them, their undoubted bravery and gal- 
lantry, became attached to them ; this feeling was returned 
with such interest that at the reorganization of the company 
they elected him their second lieutenant. With this company, 
now named Co. " B," 36th Virginia Infantry, Lieutenant Jar- 
RELL went through the northwestern campaign under General 
John B. Floyd ; taking part in the battle at the Cross Lanes, 
in Nicholas County, and in other skirmishes, besides under- 
going hard service in long and tedious marching and coun- 
termarching. When General Loring took the command of this 
department, he assigned the 36th to duty in the Kanawha 
Valley, and in an account of the campaign, written just after 
its close, speaks in terms of the highest commendation of 
Lieutenant Jarrell's services. At the battle of Fayetteville 
he was wounded quite severely in the arm, but remained on 
the field until the enemy was put to Alight At Clive's Moun- 
tain also he was distinguished for his good conduct; was 
always in front of his men urging them on, and upon the 
retreat General McCausland mentions the fact that he was 
one of the last to leave the field. 

Upon the assumption of the command by General Breckin- 
ridge, the 36th served in the Valley of Virginia, especially at 
the battle of New Market, in May, 1864. At the battle of 
Piedmont, on the 5th of the ensuing June, after the brave Gen- 
eral Jones was killed, and the enemy were breaking through 
our lines in all directions, Lieutenant Jarrell rallying his 
company covered the retreat across the river ; this little band 
by their determined resistance checking the advance of the 
enemy until a crossing had been effected. To accomplish 

19 



290 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



this, however, most of the company were captured or killed, 
among the latter Lieutenant Jarrell. Shot dead on the field, 
he fell with his face to the foe, his name on the lips of many 
who by his bravery that day had escaped capture or death 
themselves. 



THOMAS G. JEFFERSON, 

OF AMELIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " B," CORPS OF CADETS. 

The subject of this sketch, Thomas Garland Jefferson, 
was born January i, 1847, in Amelia County, Virginia. He 
was the second child and eldest son of John G. and Otelia M. 
Jefferson, who are yet living upon their beautiful estate, " Win- 
terham," near Amelia Court-House. Through his mother, 
whose maiden name was Howlett, he was related to the large 
family of that name and blood in Amelia and the adjacent 
counties. Through his father he was akin to the large and 
respectable families of Bookers and Egglestons, in Southside 
Virginia, and remotely related to the Garlands and Giles', of 
Virginia, and the author of the Declaration of American 
Independence. In features, form, and movements he very 
closely resembled his father, while in his character the dis- 
tinguishing traits of both his parents were blended. Raised 
upon a large plantation, and being the eldest son, and greatly 
trusted by his father, he was frequently called upon to over- 
look and execute important matters of business ; hence his 
character was unusually matured and robust for one of his 
age. His primary and preparatory education was conducted 
with all the advantages of home influence, in the family, by 
the best class of teachers, all of whom testified to his respect- 
ful and manly deportment, and rare fidelity, in and out of the 
school-room. 

Having completed the usual preliminary course of studies, 



THOMAS G. JEFFERSON. 29 1 

he entered the Virginia Military Institute, at Lexington, Au- 
gust I, 1863. This event was not only agreeable to his taste, 
but was a step toward the fulfillment of his earnest desire to 
serve his country; for, although but a stripling, and incapable 
of service in the field, yet he was not indifferent to the stir- 
ring and stormy scenes of that day, but, chafing under the 
restraints imposed by his youth, coveted an opportunity of 
taking a personal part in^the war for the defense of his home, 
and liberty, and country. His stay at the Institute was brief, 
and yet it was long enough for him to greatly endear himself 
to many of his fellow-students, and win the respect of all. 
He was distinguished there for sobriety, integrity, firmness, 
fidelity to duty, and piety. In the corps of cadets he had 
none but friends, and by his room-mates he was not only 
greatly respected but most affectionately loved. In the provi- 
dence of God, however, his connection with the Institute, so 
pleasant to himself and so honorable to his memory, was 
soon terminated, and with it his life. The corps of cadets 
was summoned to the assistance of General Breckinridge, at 
that time commanding the Confederate forces in the Valley 
of Virginia, and greatly pressed by the enemy. On Wednes- 
day, May II, 1864, the corps of cadets hastened to his 
assistance. The opportunity young Jefferson had so long 
panted for was now afforded, and to him the summons to the 
field was joyful tidings ; on the march, which was rapid and 
severe, he never complained or faltered. The corps reached 
New Market on the morning of May 15, and was almost im- 
mediately hurried into the engagement. In this battle the 
Cadets played a conspicuous and memorable, and probably 
decisive, part. Towards this distinction young Jefferson con- 
tributed his life, and the memory of no one who fell in that 
battle deserves to be more affectionately, honorably, and last- 
ingly commemorated. In the presence of the enemy he was 
self-possessed, his obedience to orders was prompt and un- 
hesitating, and in the moment of actual conflict he was as 
firm as a veteran, and displayed the gallantry of a chivalrous 
and patriot soldier. In the heat of the conflict he fell mor- 



2^2 • INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

tally wounded by a shot through the body. Two members 
of his company paused to aid him, but, indifferent to his own 
comfort, he pointed to the front, and in words which deserve 
to be made immortal, urged them forward, saying, " You 
can do notliing for vie ; go to the front ; there is the place for 
you f He was conveyed to a temporary hospital near the 
battle-field, and the next day removed to the house of a Mrs. 
Clinedinst, by whom, and her daughters and his room-mates, 
he was most tenderly nursed, until he was relieved from his 
sufferings by death, on Wednesday morning. May i8, 1864. 
His remains have been transferred to the Virginia Military 
Institute, and his name is enrolled on the list of her honored 
dead, whose memory is to be perpetuated by a suitable and 
lasting monument to their worth. 

The character of this gallant youth was moulded by the 
happy influence of an amiable, modest, godly, and affec- 
tionate mother, and the example and training of a father 
distinguished for sound judgment, punctuality, firmness, in- 
dustry, and perseverance. The writer of this remembers 
Thomas as a lad possessing in a rare degree those qualities 
which make the true, practical, and useful men of the world. 
His manners were quiet and gentle; he was an unusually 
dutiful son, conscientious, polite, and especially respectful and 
deferential to his seniors. He was unobtrusive, reticent, and 
reserved with strangers, but manly, decided, resolute, and 
fearless. His tender and affectionate devotion to his mother, 
expressed by his habitual regard for her wishes and comfort, 
was as attractive as it was conspicuous and uncommon. 

We cannot close this memorial without making prominent 
the crowning feature of his character, without which the 
other traits would have been less lovely and admirable. He 
never formally professed himself a child of God by faith in 
Christ. This may be explained by his great diffidence. But 
he early gave substantial evidences of devoted piety. In the 
house of God his deportment was becoming and devotional, 
and his great regard for, and consistent observance of, the 
Sabbath was a rebuke to many professing godliness. His last 



THOMAS G. JEFFERSON. 293 

home teacher, Rev. Joseph Brown, who roomed with him, 
spoke of him as the most pious youth he ever saw, and testi- 
fied to his prayerfulness and love for the Word of God. A 
room-mate, who daily observed his Hfe, speaks of him as one 
of the most dutiful Christians at the Institute. The day be- 
fore his death he requested the 14th chapter of John to be 
read to him, and when it was done he calmly said, "It is 
well." We note with peculiar pleasure these evidences of 
piety. We believe that the most attractive virtues which 
adorned his life and character were the fruits of God's renew- 
ing and sanctifying spirit, and another testimony to the value 
of religion in the formation of the character of our youth. 
However gratefully we remember his services, and however 
gladly we assist in doing honor to his memory, and transmit- 
ting for imitation that gallantry and devotion to his country 
in the hour of peril which he displayed in his life and death, 
yet we count them as but the small dust in the balance, and 
infinitely prefer, for the present and eternal benefit of the 
youth of our land, to connect his name with godliness ; com- 
mend him for imitation as a sinner saved by grace, and con- 
secrated to the Prince of peace, who bought him with His 
precious blood. The highest tribute our love can pay him is 
to say. He feared God, and fearing Him he feared nothing 
else. 

Rev. David W. Shanks. 



294 INSTITUTE MEMORIAJ.. 



PEYTON JOHNSTON, Jr., 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, RICHMOND FAYETTE ARTILLERY. 

Causa difficUis lazidare piierum : non enitn res lazidajtda, sed spes est. 

Of all localities in the South, the most truly typical and 
faithfully symbolical is Hollywood Cemetery, the Confederate 
necropolis which Virginia gave as the sacred repository for the 
bones of those who died that the Southern sisterhood of States 
might live in the possession of community independence. As 
the city of Richmond was for four years the goal of Northern 
endeavor, and the Saragossa of Southern valor and endurance, 
so is it now the Mecca where the patriot Southron sees the 
honored grave of the cherished hopes of his people. Of the 
splendid yet melancholy associations which cluster so thickly 
about the vicinage of that devoted city, Hollywood is the 
beautiful and striking point of aggregation. 

Especially does Hollywood symbolize the sepulture of 
Southern liberties, and equally epitomize the radiant record of 
Southern heroism upon the interesting anniversaries devoted 
by the ladies of Richmond to the pious work of decorating 
the graves of the heroes of the " Lost Cause." Upon these 
occasions, the eye of the visitor rarely fails to be arrested by 
the tasteful decoration which specially marks a modest mound 
upon the side of the leading avenue ascending " President's 
Hill." A simple slab, bearing an unpretending inscription, 
gives the narrative, so sadly familiar in Southern households, 
of a brave and pure life quenched almost in its dawning, — the 
simple story of the young hero who gave his life for his country. 
The words are, " Lieutenant Peyton Johnston, Jr., of the 
Fayette Artillery, killed at the battle of Cold Harbor, June 
1st, 1864; aged 20 years." 

To the stranger who has visited the cemeteries of the South, 
this is not an unfamiliar epitaph, and he passes, perhaps, with 



PEYTON JOHNSTON, JR. 295 

the sigh which comes unbidden from humanity in remem- 
brance of a war which remorselessly claimed so much of the 
lovely youth, — the hope, the cherished promise, of the land. 
To those who knew the noble young heart whose extinction 
is thus briefly narrated, there is a mournful pathos in those 
few words, so barely suggestive of the heroic virtues, the 
gentle affections, the truth, the honor, the manhood, and the 
lovely graces which that young life so grandly and beautifully 
illustrated. 

Peyton Johnston, Jr., was the product of such a blending 
of races as might have been expected to produce just such a 
type of lofty, generous, and lovable manhood. His mother is 
a Virginia lady, and his father, a genial and hospitable Irish- 
man, widely known and popular in the community which he 
adopted as his home nearly forty years ago. The subject of 
this memoir was born in the city of Richmond, Virginia, on 
the I2th of November, 1843. His childhood was, in all re- 
spects, a happy one, rendered full of sunshine not more by 
the indulgent tenderness of doting parents than by the rare 
sweetness and joyousness of a nature pervaded by an affec- 
tionateness which excluded none from its sympathies, and a 
cheerfulness which threw its genial warmth upon all who 
came within its influence. 

Within the brief limits of this sketch it would be impossible 
to record the numerous incidents which his early companions 
so readily recall, illustrative of the girl-like tenderness which 
his boyhood developed in such happy and harmonious blend- 
ing with the most manly and chivalrous qualities. As the 
writer recalls Peyton Johnston, Jr., or " Little Peyton," by 
which term of endearment he was almost universally known 
in Richmond, there seems to be revived the very image and 
embodiment of truth, duty, and generous affection. If the 
judgments of his old playfellows could find expression, there 
is little doubt that to " Little Peyton" would be given the 
unanimous award of having possessed a nature at once the 
sweetest, purest, gentlest, and bravest of them all. Abounding 
in all amiable qualities, his character was none the less marked 



296 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

by those salient and essential traits which are the stronger 
and more rugged attributes of manhood. His individuality- 
was strongly marked, his courage was abundant, his scorn for 
wrong-doing unqualified and undisguised, and his devotion to 
right uncompromising and incorruptible. In his case, the 
" child was father to the man," although his life was almost 
too brief to admit full realization of the ample promise given 
by a nature so rare in its excellencies and aspirations under 
the manifold surroundings of his childhood, which were pro- 
pitiatory of the growth and fruition of noble and attractive 
characteristics. In no sense pampered or " spoiled," he was 
yet denied nothing in the way of manly and proper amuse- 
ments, into which he always entered with much zest. Much 
of his childhood was passed in the society of persons older 
than himself, and the preference which he, at times, strikingly 
indicated for the companionship of his seniors, was an interest- 
ing feature, as well as a potent auxiliary in the development 
of his character. 

After the usual primary-school training accorded to the 
youth of his day, Peyton was placed under the instruction of 
the late Colonel William D. Stuart, — himself afterwards a 
victim of the civil war, — a graduate of the Virginia Military 
Institute, to be prepared for entering that well-known institu- 
tion. Remaining with Colonel Stuart for several years, during 
which he reaped the advantages of instruction by that capable 
and conscientious teacher, he entered the Institute in August, 
1859. We have here no space for a sketch of his career at 
the Institute, so honorable to himself, so gratifying to his 
parents, and so warmly remembered by his classmates. In 
April, 1861, some time in advance of the period at which he 
would have graduated, he accompanied the corps of cadets 
to Richmond, in obedience to the summons of the Executive 
of the State, who desired their services as drill-masters for the 
regiments of raw volunteers then hastening to the capital from 
every quarter of the menaced Commonwealth. Having per- 
formed this duty, in company with his brother cadets, faith- 
fully and efficiently, Peyton sought active service in the field. 



PEYTON JOHNSTON, JR. 297 

In August, 1 861, he was selected by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert 
Johnston, then commanding the cavalry of the Peninsular 
army, as aid-de-cainp. Attracting the attention of General 
Magruder, the commander of that military district, he was 
ordered, under circumstances peculiarly complimentary, to 
organize a corps of sappers and miners. While engaged in 
this duty, he was elected, at the reorganization of the army in 
1862, to a junior lieutenancy in the Richmond Fayette Artil- 
lery, an old and distinguished command, which promptly ten- 
dering its services to the State at the outbreak of hostilities, 
sustained its fine prestige upon many memorable battle-fields. 

Peyton was, at the period of this tempting offer to his am- 
bition for the fame to be won only in the midst of the perils 
of the battle-field, barely eighteen years old, — a fact no little 
suggestive of the deserved recognition which his soldierly 
qualities had already received. From this date, excepting a 
brief interval of recruiting service in Richmond, in March and 
April, 1862, on to the hour of his death, he was constantly 
with his battery, sharing its dangers and privations, and re- 
ceiving, by the cheerful accord of his fellow-officers and of the 
men whom he commanded, his full proportion of that splendid 
reputation of the Fayette Artillery to which nearly every 
battle-field in Virginia gave its ample contribution. At Wil- 
liamsburg, Seven Pines, in the seven days' battles, at the short 
and brilliant investment of Harper's Ferry, at Boonsboro' and 
Sharpsburg, and in the splendid and crowning victory of that 
year of Confederate triumphs, — Fredericksburg, the Fayette 
Artillery was conspicuous for its valor, its services, and its un- 
stinted sacrifices. Deprived of participation in the glories of 
Chancellorsville, by its detachment with General Longstreet 
during the Suffolk campaign, during which it performed 
gallant and valuable service, the battery returned to General 
Lee in time to bear its proportion of the glories and disasters 
of Gettysburg. In the winter of 1863-4 it saw much active 
service on the South-side of James River, and, in the suc- 
ceeding spring, performed a conspicuous part in the campaign 
of Pickett and Hoke, in Eastern North Carolina. Attached to 



298 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

the division of Pickett, the Fayette Artillery accompanied that 
command when it was ordered from the South-side to aid the 
sorely-pressed legions of Lee in their Titanic struggles with 
the multitudinous hosts of Grant upon the north of Richmond. 

It was at second Cold Harbor, June 12, 1864, one of the 
most desperate of the almost daily combats between the op- 
posing armies of Lee and Grant, before the latter was forced 
to abandon his direct advance upon the Confederate capital, 
that the heroic boy of whom we write received his death- 
wound. The following letter to his father, written from the 
battle-field by Lieutenant Clopton, a most gallant and meri- 
torious officer, then commanding the battery, fitly tells the 
story of his heroic death : 

" It is a heavy grief that has come upon us all ; but Peyton 
died as gallantly as ever man did. He was shot through the 
thigh, just as the charge was heaviest. He rose again, and 
exclaimed, ' There's the flag, boys ; give them a double can- 
ister. Blaze away, boys !' — when the fatal .shot struck him, 
and he died very gently. It was impossible to keep him down 
after he was struck the first time. I will not attempt to con- 
sole a father who has lost such a son, but it is at least sweet 
to know that he fell with his heroic crown upon his brow." 

In these brief pages we have undertaken no biographical 
sketch of Peyton Johnston, Jr. ; the scope of this memoir 
forbade such a purpose. We have given the barest outline of 
his pure and glorious life. A more worthy and extended 
sketch would have embraced the many incidents which illus- 
trated the character whose splendid colors our hasty hand has 
possibly only blurred; it would have been enriched with ex- 
tracts from the letters of the young collegian aspiring and 
expectant of college honors, but generous in expressions of 
hope for the success of comrades whom he loved ; especially 
would an appropriate sketch have been adorned by extracts 
from the letters of the young soldier, full of hope, courage, 
and ambition, and always grateful to God for his preservation 
through countless perils, and for the grace which strengthened 
him for resistance of countless temptations. 



FRANCIS B. JONES. 299 

In his letters from college and from camp, filial affection is 
an all-pervading sentiment, and his lofty conception of duty, 
that word which General Lee thought the " sublimest in our 
language," is shown as the shining token and perfect solution 
of his daily " walk and conversation." It was remarked to 
the writer, not long after the death of Peyton, by his father, 
that " he had never cost his parents a pang or a tear, except 
in sympathy for his bodily sufferings, during his whole life." 
Than this there could be no more eloquent tribute to his 
memory, and in his case this consistent filial duty, which has 
been the basis of nearly every character resplendent in history 
by its virtues, has left a fragrant memory, giving no little 
surcease 

" Of sighs that speak a father's woe, 
Of pangs that none but mothers know." 

He sleeps peacefully upon that beautiful height overlooking 
the " ever-murmuring James," and in full view of the city of 
his nativity, to whose defense he gave a life as pure and 
radiant as those of the noblest of the heroes whose last rest- 
ing-place is marked by the countless mounds of Hollywood. 

Quid tibl nunc ; miserande piier ? Quid tanta indole dignum ? 

Frank H. Alfriend. 



FRANCIS B. JONES, 

OF FREDERICK COUNTY. VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, 2D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Francis Buckner Jones, son of William S. Jones and Ann 
Gary Randolph, was born at " Vaucluse," his father's residence, 
in Frederick County, Virginia, on the 14th of June, 1828. He 
was the great-grandson, on his mother's side, of Beverly Ran- 
dolph, former Governor of Virginia, and his paternal ances- 
try from the Revolution were men of wealth and influence in 
the country. Up to the age of eleven years he received in- 



300 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



struction at home under the care of a private tutor, when, on 
the 13th of October, 1839, he was entered at the Episcopal 
High School, near Alexandria, Virginia, then under the man- 
agement of the Rev. William N. Pendleton. His school-boy 
days were marked by no distinguishing characteristic or inci- 
dent except the striking effect produced upon him by his first 
religious impressions. He enjoyed the advantages of this in- 
stitution for several years, and it was here he received these 
first impressions. They remained with him through life, ex- 
hibiting their effects in boyhood and manhood with a peculiar 
and marked distinctness, constantly widening and deepening 
until they seemed to constitute the mainspring of his whole 
action, and formed, perhaps, the most prominent, as they cer- 
tainly did one of the most lovable and attractive, features in 
his character. His intimate associates here were youths of 
exalted piety, and he moved in an atmosphere greatly con- 
ducive to the growth and culture of vital religion. As a boy, 
he became an epistle read of all boys, and as his character 
strengthened and developed into that of the man, the benign 
and wholesome influence of his life and example was only 
widened and enhanced. 

On the 1 8th of July, 1845, ^^ matriculated at the Virginia 
Military Institute, and was graduated July 4, 1848. Here he 
received a military education, and became acquainted with 
many afterwards distinguished graduates of that institution, 
who, with him, responded to the call of their State in the 
assertion of her just rights and her attempt to defend those 
rights and to protect herself from the encroachments of North- 
ern aggression. It is to be remarked here that Major Jones's 
natural aptitudes and dispositions were all averse to the 
necessities both of life and study which he encountered at 
the Institute. With a fine intelligence and a keen relish and 
appreciation for literature and science in whatever form pre- 
sented, it may be yet said that he had no taste for mathematics, 
and a positive distaste and aversion for practical military sci- 
ence with its necessary accompaniments. The life of a soldier 
was not that life which was congenial to his natural tenden- 



FRANCIS B. yONES, 301 

cies and inclinations. While his endurance was equal to that 
of most men, and his resolution and power of will unconquer- 
able, except by the failure of his physical powers, the rough 
and irregular life inseparable from a soldier's experience was 
not such as commended itself to his preferences, nor one from 
which he could derive those habitudes of thought and feeling 
best suited to his delicately strong moral and religious organ- 
ism. The experiences of the Institute were, therefore, a great 
trial to him, and he would probably have receded from them 
had it not been that the same sense of duty which carried him 
through the war carried him also through this ordeal. He 
could not reconcile it with his self-respect and the proprieties 
of the case to abandon a position which he had deliberately 
assumed simply because it was a disagreeable one, and he 
passed through his three years' probation with a conduct and 
bearing which won for him the respect and esteem — may we 
not say admiration? — of both professors and cadets. A class- 
mate, writing of him at this period of his life, uses the follow- 
ing language : " He was a favorite with all, and beloved both 
by professors and cadets. He was admired for his high sense 
of honor, his unbending integrity, his consistency as a Chris- 
tian, his great conscientiousness, and his uniform and undevi- 
ating purity of life. He was in every sense a high type of a 
noble Christian gentleman, never guilty of the least deviation, 
so far as I know, from a course of life and conduct that de- 
manded and received the respect and love of all who knew 
him. His influence for good was felt by 9II with whom he 
came in contact. He was, indeed, the object of an esteem and 
affection altogether singular towards so young a man, and 
which had their foundation in the deep and universal convic- 
tion of his perfect integrity of purpose, his unbending sincerity 
and truthfulness, his Christian generosity of spirit, and in the 
persuasion that he was a man who lived near to God, as was 
evident from his holy walk, his spiritual and lovely character, 
and his singularly amiable and affectionate temper and dispo- 
sition. 

" As to his standing as a student, he had no turn for mathe- 



302 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

matics, and he took but little pleasure in applying his mind to 
this subject, but in all other branches he stood high in his class. 
His talents were of a high order, and as a speaker he was much 
admired, and was chosen by his class to deliver the valedictory 
at its graduation." 

His friend and classmate, in the above recollections of him, 
has only described him as he was throughout his whole life. 

After leaving the Institute, he commenced farming at Carys- 
brooke, in the county of Frederick, some time in the year 
1850, and in 1853 married the eldest daughter of William L. 
Clark, Esq., of Winchester. Here he had a fair field for testing 
the pleasures and profits of agricultural life, — a life that he 
loved above all others, and for which his habits and associa- 
tions from boyhood peculiarly fitted him. He seemed to draw 
his vital breath from rural scenes. The son of one of the 
most extensive and successful farmers of the country, accus- 
tomed to the high style of living and of acting characteristic 
of the old Virginia farmer, he was enamored of the pursuit 
from his earliest days, and always spoke of it as the only one 
he could follow with any degree of satisfaction. The natural- 
ness of country-life, with its freedom from artificial restraints 
and from the political and social conventionalities — may we 
not say sci'vitiide ? — of the day, was in perfect unison with his 
most cherished aspirations. He pursued his calling with a 
sleepless vigilance, and soon discovered such a wide-reaching 
grasp and methodical accuracy in the management of his 
affairs as to attract the attention of the whole farming com- 
munity. This was, perhaps, the happiest period of his life. 
The results of his operations were eminently successful, and 
at the beginning of the war, although his plans were scarcely 
matured, he was on the high road to prosperity and affluence. 
He had no political aspirations. His was a character not in 
consonance with that usually found among political aspirants. 
Modern degeneracy is fast teaching, if it has not already 
taught, men of observation and experience that the most 
exalted character is to be found elsewhere than among those 
who occupy high places of public preferment and responsibil- 



FRANCIS B. JONES. 303 

ity. Demagoguism in its various forms, political, professional, 
social, and, it may be even said, commercial, has been for years 
past the ruling spirit of the country, aggressive in its character 
and so successful in its encroachments^ that it has well-nigh 
reached the pinnacle of power. Holding this power in an iron 
grasp, and wielding it with blind and fearful recklessness, it is 
mercilessly preying upon the peace and security of society, 
and now holds high carnival over the prostration of all ele- 
vated public character and integrity. An election to a public 
office or position, contrary to the rule that formerly obtained, 
is prima facie evidence against character, and one who is the 
envied recipient of such an honor must prove himself without 
taint before he can enjoy that respect and consideration which 
all good men covet in the estimation of their discriminating 
fellow-citizens. Office seeks no man ; all men are in search 
of office, and virtue finds here no congenial soil in which to 
thrive. The arts necessary to be used in manipulating an 
election, for instance ; the agencies which must be employed to 
insure a successful issue, are of such a character as to be 
wholly inconsistent with the methods by which virtue and 
high-toned honor effects its purposes, and cannot be handled 
or tampered with by those who would retain, much less culti- 
vate, such lofty traits. In fact, such terms are deridea rather 
than respected in this connection. The same principle runs 
through all the phases in which modern society presents itself; 
and to all this Major Jones presented a striking contrast in 
every movement and emotion of his life. The natural genu- 
ineness of his character violently repelled the specious and 
plausible, and all his instincts led him to pursue the real and 
the true, uninfluenced by any external forces calculated to 
swerve him from their manifest suggestions. 

Devoid, as he was, of all desire for political promotion, he 
was not, however, unnoted by those who managed the affairs 
of the political world. A friend, writing of him, mentions the 
following fact. We produce it in his own words : 

"At the time that most important assembly, a sovereign 
' convention' of the State, to decide upon the issues of the 



304 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



war, was called by the Legislature of Virginia, it was found a 
difficult matter, because of past animosities and political differ- 
ences, to effect unanimity between the parties of the day upon 
any one of our leading men. A conference was held of lead- 
ing gentlemen of each of the old political parties, and after an 
interchange of opinions for a few moments a venerable gentle- 
man arose and said he thought he could suggest the name of 
one who, although a Whig in name, was yet so thoroughly 
imbued with the doctrine of State rights as to make him 
acceptable to the most exacting Democrat, who, although 
young in years, was cool and deliberate in the hour of danger. 
He would suggest the name of Francis. B. Jones, a gentleman 
upon whom all parties might unite, and in whose election all 
might rejoice. The suggestion was approved, and a commit- 
tee was appointed to wait upon Mr. Jones to secure his con- 
sent to become a candidate ; and well do we remember his 
surprise when informed of our mission. He expressed his 
appreciation of the compliment, but promptly and decidedly 
declined to become a candidate. There were others, he said, 
better qualified for the position, who could render the State 
more efficient service. " He zvoiild leave home only at the call 
of his State to defend her from actual invasion." 

He remained at home until the outbreak of the war, pursu- 
ing quietly and unobtrusively the duties of his vocation, and 
avoiding everything that might interrupt the calm quiet and 
content he enjoyed in the circle of his happy and devoted 
family; at the same time he was a deeply-interested and 
anxious observer of the tendency of passing events, with an 
already matured determination to meet whatever personal 
responsibilities the issue of those events might devolve upon 
him, and to cast his lot and destinies with those of his native 
and beloved State. Unobtrusive and retiring as he was, he 
was nevertheless devoted to intelligent and refined society, 
and no one excelled him in the true and genuine hospitality 
of a Virginia gentleman. These terms we dare to use, not- 
withstanding the vulgar aspersion which it is the fashion of 
the day to cast upon them, as expressing a type of humanity 



FRANCIS B. yONES. 305 

unsurpassed, perhaps unequaled, unless by that of the old 
English gentleman from which it is immediately derived, and 
to which it is bound by the closest ties and sympathies. The 
traditional and written history of his State was a theme upon 
which his interest never flagged, and his admiration for many 
of her distinguished sons, and his jealousy of their public 
reputation and character, amounted almost to a passion. 
Descended himself on one side from a family so noted in her 
history, he ever dwelt with pride and pleasure on her high 
and commanding position in the past, searching into her an- 
tiquities for the gratification of those feelings, and fondly 
cherishing the hope that her future would be but a brilliant 
reflex and confirmation of her past. He little imagined that 
the generous cession of her Northwest Territory to the Fed- 
eral Government would be recompensed to her by that 
Government, under the vulgar power of the sword, by a dis- 
memberment of her own empire, and an attempted destruc- 
tion of everything he held dear in her past history and future 
hopes. 

In 1858 he was urged by Brigadier-General Carson to act 
as inspector of the i6th Brigade, which position he reluc- 
tantly accepted, and discharged its duties with great credit to 
himself and the perfect satisfaction of his friend and com- 
manding officer until the Virginia troops were sent to Har- 
per's Ferry by the Governor, in the spring of 1861. His 
strongest reason for occupying that position was that he 
would thus be brought in contact, as he said, with a large 
class of character which otherwise he could never reach, and 
would be enabled to effect, through the medium of tracts and 
other instrumentalities, an amount of good which he was not 
at liberty to neglect. The matter presented itself to his 
mind, therefore, in the light of a duty, and he acted in this 
position as a missionary of the Cross, as well as an officer of 
the Government. He always left home on his round of duty 
fully equipped with these silent but potent missives, and of 
their effective use, with whatever other means of influence he 
could command, his own zeal and earnestness is a sufficient 

20 



3o6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

guarantee. At Harper's Ferry, General Carson immediately 
selected him as his chief of staff, and not only has he ever 
testified to the invaluable services rendered by him in the 
formation and disposition of the troops which were rapidly 
and without order assembled there, but has spoken of him to 
the writer, on more than one occasion, in a strain of unaf- 
fected eulogy and affection scarcely admissible within the 
proprieties of this publication. 

When Colonel Jackson — afterwards the immortal Stone- 
wall — arrived in command of all the forces at that place, and 
a new organization of the troops was effected, he was at once 
invited to act as his adjutant. This position he assumed, and 
in the discharge of its duties and responsibilities he remained 
until some time in the winter of 1862, although he had pre- 
viously received a commission of major in the infantry, and 
had been assigned to duty in the 2d Virginia Regiment, 
commanded by Colonel James W. Allen and his intimate 
friend, Lieutenant-Colonel Lawson Botts. His first battle 
was fought at Manassas, July 21, 1861, close by the side of 
Jackson, and he was with him when he led his troops to their 
" Stonewall" baptism. The army, as is well known, remained 
inactive at and near Manassas during the following fall and 
winter. He writes under date of Fairfax Court-House, Octo- 
ber 14, 1861 : "Our policy is clearly to act on the defensive, 
and I never knew so well before that we are obliged to do it 
becmise we are zvcak. I have given up all hope of peace. A 
gloomy war, a long war, and a bloody one, you may depend 
upon it, is before us, and we may as well make up our minds 
to it. I dread the separation from my family for so long a 
period; and the prospect of losing my life, whilst three young 
children require my care, is at times very depressing; but my 
duty is plain, and it, of course, I must pursue regardless of 
all consequences." What a world of meaning is in that sim- 
ple declaration! In the winter of 1862 he resigned the adju- 
tancy and went to his regiment. On the 23d of March, 
when the memorable battle of Kernstown was fought, Gen- 
eral Jackson again called for his services on his staff, and he 



FRANCIS B. JONES. 307 

rendered the old hero in that hard-fought battle such effi- 
cient aid as only one could do who was familiar with the field 
of action, fought as the battle was in sight of his own home, 
and on ground over which he had roamed a thousand times. 
These services were officially commended by General Jack- 
son in his report of that battle. About this time he was 
attacked with diarrhoea, which soon became chronic, and 
greatly afflicted him during the remainder of his life. But, 
although his system was greatly prostrated, he was rarely 
absent from his post, and, unless confined to his bed, partici- 
pated with the Stonewall Brigade, of which his regiment 
formed a part, in all its toils and honors and battles, until he 
received his death-wound, at Cold Harbor, June 27, 1862, in 
the charge made by the Stonewall Brigade on McGee's Hill, 
falling at the same time with his friend and colonel under 
the terrific fire of the enemy. Colonel William S. H. Bay- 
lor, of the 5th Virginia Regiment, who subsequently fell in 
the battle of second Manassas, describing this charge in a 
letter to a friend, says, " That day was hard fought and well 
contested. Our brigade, for a wonder, being entirely in the 
rear, held as a reserve, was brought into action late. The 
roar of musketry for a distance of miles was such as warriors 
of more experience than this horrid war has affor(^ed say they 
never heard before. The enemy had been repulsed on our 
right, but on the left a strong position, McGee's Hill, was 
still stubbornly held by him with artillery and infantry. It 
seemed that he could not be driven back. Several unsuccess- 
ful attempts had been made on this position during the day, 
and it is said that General Jackson, at the request of General 
Lee to furnish him a force adequate to the emergency, 
ordered forward our brigade. And forward we went. For 
three-quarters of a mile a shower of shell fell around us, but 
our boys kept up gallantly through the thick woods and miry 
swamps, until we reached an open and wide field which grad- 
ually ascended into a commanding hill, where the enemy was 
posted, already receiving us with his artillery, and now with 
his small-arms. Our lines were thinned by many having 



3o8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

fallen from exhaustion in the terrible effort to keep up at the 
rate we were going, and I do not think the brigade numbered 
over eight hundred men. Our lines were formed by a sort of 
intuition, — my regiment the Extreme left, the 2d next on my 
right, and so on. We stopped but once, and that when poor 
Allen and the beloved Jones fell. It was now quite dark. 
The 2d only hesitated a morhent, and their yell told us to 
charge, and in two minutes more my boys had taken the 
guns, but did not stop to triumph until they had pressed the 
reluctant Yankees a hundred and fifty yards beyond. The 
entire hill was gained, and gained, I may say, by a handful of 
men against a much superior force." 

In this desperate charge, with a system prostrated by dis- 
ease, his physical weakness obliged him to keep his horse, 
and he was one of the few field officers who went into the 
charge under such perilous circumstances. Whilst, hat in 
hand, in front of his regiment, he was encouraging his men 
forward to the discharge of their terrible duty, he was struck 
in the knee by a canister-shot, and fell to the ground, his 
regiment passing over him to the achievement of their 
splendid triumph. He remained on the field during the 
night, a part of the time attended by a single comrade. On 
the following day he was taken to the field hospital, where he 
suffered amputation of the thigh. At his request, he was 
afterwards taken in charge by his former friend and neighbor. 
Dr. William A. Davis, and removed to his private lodgings 
in Richmond, where every attention that tender interest and 
affection could suggest was bestowed upon him. Dr. Davis 
was aided in consultation by Drs. H. T. Barton and Beverly 
Wellford. Brothers and friends were around his couch, and 
the best medical skill was brought into requisition to minister 
to his relief, but it was all unavailing. His prostrated system 
never rallied from the shock, and July 9, 1862, he breathed 
out his spirit as a Christian dies, amid the anguish of sorrow- 
stricken friends and relations, but with the confident assurance 
of an immediate entrance upon a higher communion and a 
brighter inheritance. His remains were temporarily depos- 



FRANCIS B. JONES. 309 

ited in Hollywood Cemetery, and subsequently removed to 
Winchester, where they now repose in the Stonewall Ceme- 
tery, by the side of his gallant friend and companion in arms, 
Colonel Thomas Marshall, hard by the graves of the Ashby 
brothers. 

If the course of this narrative has failed to suggest the 
more striking features in the character of its subject, this will 
scarcely be accomplished by a studied effort. Such a charac- 
ter is more easily felt and appreciated than either imitated 
or described. Colonel Baylor, in the communication above 
quoted, lamenting the loss of others who fell in this dreadful 
struggle, says further, "And then the loss of Frank Jones! 
If there ever lived a pure man, he was Frank Jones. With 
everything that could be desired to make him a friend, he 
possessed that unpretending yet ever-noticeable piety which 
is the brightest and rarest of soldierly qualities, together with 
so much good sense and gentleness of manner that his influ- 
ence was felt Avherever he went, and exten(3ed beyond the cir- 
cle of his immediate acquaintance. His loss will be long felt 
by many friends, but who can repair the loss to the bereaved 
companion of his life, and the dear little ones now fatherless ? 
God will temper the wind to His shorn lambs." Truly, the 
actions of good men live after them, a precious heritage to 
their posterity, and a beacon-light to remote generations. 
Duty to God and man — the discharge of conscientious, en- 
lightened Christian duty — was the pole-star towards which 
all his efforts tended, and on which the whole action of his 
life was based. It was not a sentiment witfi him, but a prac- 
tical reality, and stood prominently forth in every position 
which he occupied, whether as soldier or civilian. On this 
shrine he sacrificed his most cherished interests, and all the 
darling projects of his life. Without ambition, without the 
hope or desire of worldly promotion, at the summons of this 
ever-present monitor he entered the service of his country, 
and fought a good fight in a cause which he pronounced 
worth fighting for, if any such there be, and suffered and 
died with the self-abnegation of a martyr and the unflinch- 



310 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ing courage and calm composure of a Christian hero and 
soldier. 

We dismiss our melancholy task with the single reflection 
that men die but their characters live after them, and happy 
is the man who in his day and generation has exhibited so 
much to be admired and imitated, and so little to be re- 
gretted, as the subject of this notice. 

J. Peyton Clark, A.M. 



HENRY JENNER JONES, 

OF KING WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, CO. " D," CORPS OF 

CADETS. 

Perhaps no battle of the war was comparatively so widely 
spoken of as the one fought at New Market, in the Valley of 
Virginia, in May, 1864. Though a complete victory, Breck- 
inridge, with a force slightly exceeding three thousand men, 
utterly routing Sigel with more than double that number, it 
would have sunk into insignificance, happening as it did just 
at the time of great and important battles of the Wilderness 
and Spottsylvania Court-House, but that a romantic interest 
was attached to it from the gallant participation of the " boys" 
of the Virginia Military Institute ; and a thrill of sorrow sent 
through the Southern land, re-echoed even from our foes, at 
the death of the eight brave boy-soldiers, too young to have 
known the horrors of war. The subject of this sketch was 
one of this band. 

Cadet Henry Jenner Jones, son of Thomas S. and Mary E. 
Jones, was born in King William County, Virginia, on the 
loth of March, 1847. When sixteen years of age, in August, 
1863, he was entered at the Virginia Military Institute, becom- 
ing a member of the fourth class. With this class he pursued 
his studies, passing successfully the intermediate examination, 



HENRY JEXNER JONES. 311 

until the nth of May, 1864. On that day the corps was 
ordered to join Breckinridge's army at Staunton. 

Jenner, for so he was called, was, like many of his com- 
rades, too young to perform efficient service, but like them 
moved by love of home and country, roused by a contagious 
enthusiasm, and, more than all, stung to his heart's core by 
the death of his elder brother, who had been killed at Seven 
Pines, he went with his comrades to battle for his State, to 
avenge his brother's death. In the disposition of his forces 
on the field of New Market, on Sunday morning. May 15, 
General Breckinridge threw the corps of cadets into his 
second, or reserve line, designing, if possible, to keep them 
from the dangers of the engagement, but the exigencies of 
battle and the determined enthusiasm of the gallant corps 
prevented the carrying out of this design. The regiment im- 
mediately in their front breaking under the galling fire, they 
closed in and filled up the gap, giving material assistance in 
turning the tide of battle. But before this glorious moment, 
before they had come into direct contact with the foe, death 
had thinned their ranks ; a shell passing over the first line burst 
just at the junction of the flanks of "C" and "D" Companies, 
killing the orderly sergeant of " D " Company and three pri- 
vates. Jenner Jones was of this number. His face lit up 
with the fire of battle, he fell ere his hand had been raised to 
avenge his own and his country's wrongs. 

Of his character, a brother says, " It was just forming, and 
gave promise of much future usefulness. He was of a warm, 
affectionate disposition, securing therebythe love of all who 
knew him well. He eminently displayed those Christian vir- 
tues of integrity, truthfulness, honor, and courage, for which his 
Welsh ancestry were noted ; and yet it bemourns me to state 
he never made an open confession of his faith in Christ. This, 
indeed, is the saddest point in his life ; yet we do hope that 
the eminently pious influences of his sainted father had early 
impressed his mind for good, so that even without our knowl- 
edge he had secretly consecrated himself to the service of his 
Master." 



312 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ROBERT H. KEELING, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, I3TH ALABAMA INFANTRY. 

Robert H. Keeling, son of the Rev, Henry Keeling, a 
Baptist minister of Richmond, was born in that city in 1827. 

In September, 1843, he was entered as a cadet at the Virginia 
Military Institute, and graduated in the class of 1846, standing 
well up in his class on general merit. Shortly after gradua- 
tion he was commissioned lieutenant in Colonel Hamtramck's 
regiment, and served in this capacity during the Mexican war. 
From the close of this war until the summer of 1861 Mr. 
Keeling's home was in Alabama, where he occupied himself in 
teaching, and finally became principal of a male academy at 
Tuskeegee. At the outbreak of the late war he organized a 
company, mostly composed of his students, and came with it 
to Virginia about the time of the battle of Bull Run ; this 
company was attached to the 13th Alabama. From the time 
of their arrival in Virginia nothing of special interest, beyond 
the regular routine of the service, with occasional skirmishing, 
occurred to Captain Keeling or his command, until the Seven 
Pines fight. In this battle, on the 31st of May, 1862, he was 
instantly killed by a Minie-ball, while leading tiis regiment 
(acting colonel) in a charge upon the enemy's works. 

Captain Keeling was in his thirty-fifth year when he was 
killed, and left a widow and five children. Those who knew 
him represent him as a man of excellent character, brave, gen- 
erous, strictly honorable, and much beloved by friends and 
comrades. 



WILLIAM KEITER. 



313 



WILLIAM KEITER, 

OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, TENNESSEE ARTILLERY. 

The duty of a soldier to obey unquestioningly is a stern 
necessity of war, throwing a terrible responsibility on him by 
whom the order is given, when, being rash and useless, it 
proves fatal to the brave men whose bounden duty it is to 
execute. The sad end of the little band commanded by the 
subject of this memoir is a forcible illustration of this, and 
at the same time an instance of such perfect subordination, 
full knowledge and deep sense of soldierly duty, as to be an 
example which might with profit have been imitated by many 
of those higher in authority during the existence of the Con- 
federate armies. Had such a strict sense of subordination; as 
was illustrated, among the lower officers by Captain Keiter 
in his death, and among those higher in authority, more 
notably by his old instructor, Stonewall Jackson, in his life 
and the testimony of his death-bed ; pervaded tliese armies, 
very different results would have been certainly obtained in 
many specific cases, and in all probability would have brought 
about a different general result. It is needless to multiply 
examples. The effect of the battle of Gettysburg upon the 
issue of the war is well known ; its loss is attributed by those 
high in authority, if not to actual insubordination, at least to 
a discretionary and slothful obedience of orders on the part 
of a corps commander. 

William Keiter, son of Benjamin and Mary Keiter, was 
born in Hampshire County, Virginia, on the 3d of June, 
1830. His grandfather, of German descent, and a native of 
Pennsylvania, emigrated to Virginia about the year 1790, and 
settled in Hampshire, where the family still reside. William, 
at an early age, was apparently of bright intellect ; acquiring 
a taste for study as he grew older, and finally becoming de- 
sirous to attend school, his father sent him for two sessions to , 



314 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



an academy at Romney. He then taught one session in 
a primary school at Wardensville, Virginia ; thence he went 
to Aldie, attending school there about nine months, during 
which time he prepared himself for college. 

In August, 1855, he became a cadet in the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, entering the fourth class. At the end of the 
first year he had attained the fifth stand on general merit, in a 
class of thirty-nine. In his second year the third class was 
augmented by the entrance of several new cadets whose 
previous advantages enabled them to take the lead in the 
class ; this brought down his stand to eighth, which rank he 
held until he graduated, July 4, 1859. This stand, in the 
upper third of his class, exceedingly creditable at all times, 
was more especially so at this period in the history of the 
Institute, when the corps was composed of finer material 
probably than at any other time : no less than seven of 
those who were cadets in this period, from 1855 to 1859, be- 
coming afterwards full professors in the Virginia Military 
Institute; and of the hundred graduates for the same four 
years, all except three or four were afterwards officers in the 
Confederate army. Cadet Keiter attained especial excel- 
lence in chemistry, natural philosophy, and English studies; 
his great trouble being demerits, the settled habits of man- 
hood making it difficult to acquire the habits of a military 
discipline. Year by year, however, he improved, till in the 
first class his number of demerits was comparatively small. 

After graduation he taught school in Norfolk, as an assist- 
ant of Mr. Schofield, for one year. Remaining with his 
father then for some time, he afterwards went to Shelbyville, 
Tennessee, where he started a school in partnership with Mr. 
C. L. Hulin. This was designed to be a graded school, and 
was carried on successfully by these gentlemen during the 
session of 1860-61. At the close of this year Mr. Keiter 
entered the service. Receiving a captain's commission early 
in 1862, he raised and organized a company of artillery. The 
further particulars of his military life are unknown. Killed 
by the explosion of a piece of ordnance, in the summer of 



JAMES R. KENT, JR. 315 

1862, his family have never been enabled to find out the date 
of his death, nor the attendant circumstances, except in the 
most imperfect way. During the August, probably, of this 
year Captain Keiter received orders to discharge some 
heavy pieces of old ordnance. Seeing from examination that 
an explosion would inevitably ensue, he protested against the 
execution of the order; but the order not being withdrawn, 
he forbid any of his company taking charge of this duty; said 
he would perform it himself, and, in company with one lieuten- 
ant and such privates as were necessary, discharged the piece. 
His prediction proved sadly true; at the fire the cannon ex- 
ploded, killing him, his first lieutenant, and five privates. 

Captain Keiter was in his thirty-third year at the date of 
his death. 



JAMES R. KENT, Jr., 

OF PULASKI COUNTY, VIRGINIA; SECOND LIEUTENANT, CO. "E," 24TH 
VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

James Randal Kent, Jr., was born in the county of Pulaski, 
Virginia, August 15, 1838. Ilis parents were Elizabeth and 
David F. Kent. He was the grandson of General Gordon 
Lloyd, and Colonel Joseph Kent, of Southwestern Virginia. 

He entered the Virginia Military Institute in 1856, and grad- 
uated 4th of July, i860. After the secession of Virginia he 
went to Richmond, and was offered the adjutancy of a Virginia 
regiment, which he declined, and returned to Pulaski County, 
where he accepted the second lieutenant's place in a company 
then forming. This company was mustered into service at 
Lynchburg, and formed Co. " E," of the 24th Regiment Vir- 
ginia Infantry, of which General J. A. Early was colonel. 
Lieutenant Kent's military attainments and soldierly qualities 
made him an exceedingly useful and efficient officer of the 
regiment, and he was always detailed by the commanding offi- 



3l6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

cer to drill other companies ; and when the ordeal of battle 
came, his cool and dauntless courage marked him as the true 
soldier. 

He died 4th of September, 1861, near Fairfax Station, Vir- 
ginia, from the effects of a severe cold. His untimely loss 
was deeply mourned and severely felt, not only by his com- 
pany, but the entire regiment. The unaffected simplicity of 
his manners and manly bearing, the generous, high-toned 
spirit and genuine pluck that distinguished him, made him 
many warm personal friends, and commanded the admiration 
and respect of all who knew him. 



JAMES M. KINCHELOE, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; ADJUTANT, I7TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY. 

James M. Kincheloe was born in Fauquier County, Vir- 
ginia, in 1836; entered the Virginia Military Institute in 
August, 1854, and graduated in 1858, standing well up in 
his class, — eighth on general merit, — having been an officer 
during his whole course, and in his last year first captain of 
the corps. In the interval between his graduation and the 
outbreak of the war he moved to Tennessee. At the begin- 
ning of hostilities he was appointed by Governor Harris 
drill-master of volunteers, collecting at different points in the 
State. Desirous of reaching his native State, he finally at- 
tached himself to the 17th Tennessee Infantry as adjutant 
(though he bore, the rank of major by appointment), this regi- 
ment being then under marching orders to join the army in 
Virginia at Manassas. Overtaken by disease at Bristol, he 
died on the 26th of August, 1861. 

In default of other description of his career and character, 
we give an extract from the resolutions adopted by his regi- 
ment within a few days after his death : 



JAMES M. KINCHELOE. 317 

"Headquarters 17TH Tennessee Volunteers, 
September 17, 1861. 

"At a meeting of the officers of the 17th Regiment Ten- 
nessee Volunteers, convened for the purpose of offering some 
testimonial to the worth of James M. Kincheloe, late adju- 
tant of this regiment, Colonel T. W. Newman was called to 
the chair. Captain R. P. Hunter appointed secretary, and 
Captains A. S. Marks, J. L. Armstrong, and R. H. McCreery 
were appointed a committee to draft resolutions expressive of 
the object of the meeting, and reported the following pream- 
ble and resolutions, which were unanimously adopted : 

" WJicrcas, We have been advised of the death of our late 
adjutant, James M. Kincheloe, who departed this life at Bris- 
tol, Tennessee, on the 26th ultimo; therefore be it 

''Resolved, That in Adjutant Kincheloe was discovered a 
rare association of natural genius, scientific attainments, and 
personal excellencies, which pre-eminently distinguished him 
as a tactician and a soldier, and in his death the service has 
lost one of its most efficient officers, and society one of its 
brightest ornaments. 

"Resolved, That our regiment is indebted in a great meas- 
ure to his energy, perseverance, and proficiency for its present 
attainm.ents in the science of war, and his death at this junc- 
ture has shorn us of one of our pillars of strength, and 
stricken down a champion in our cause. 

''Resolved, That our intimate acquaintance with him during 
his official connection with our regiment deeply impressed us 
with the many virtues which ornamented his life and charac- 
ter. As a man, his integrity was unimpeachable ; as a friend, 
he was generous and confiding; as a soldier, he was cour- 
teous to his superiors and affable to his inferiors ; as a 
scholar, he was learned without ostentation ; and as a gentle- 
man, he had no superiors. 

" (Signed) Colonel T. W. Newman, 

" Chainnan. 
" Captain R. P. Hunter, Secretary" 



3i8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

With his sword yet unsheathed, yet looking to do battle for 
his country, he died. The testimony of his comrades indi- 
cates what he might have done had he not been called away. 



THOMAS C. KINNEY, 

OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT, STAFF GENERAL EDWARD 

JOHNSON. 

Thomas C. Kinney, son of N. C. and Mary A. Kinney, was 
born near Staunton, Virginia, on the 2ist of April, 1840. In 
September, 1859, he became a cadet at the Military Institute. 
The following editorial obituary from the Staunton Spectator o( 
August 4, 1 863, must suffice for an account of his military life. 

"Died at Staunton, on the 24th of July, 1863, of typhoid 
fever, Lieutenant Thomas C. Kinney, son of the late N. C. 
Kinney. He graduated at the Virginia Military Institute in 
1 86 1, repaired immediately to the field, and was assigned to 
the command of General Wise as lieutenant of artillery, and 
served with him in his western campaign and at Roanoke 
Island, where, after firing in that disastrous fight the last round 
of ammunition from his howitzer, which was mounted in a 
three-gun battery, on the flank of the sea-coast batteries, he 
fell from the effects of the concussion of a shell, and was taken 
prisoner by the forces under Burnside. 

" After his exchange Lieutenant Kinney was assigned to the 
staff of General ' Stonewall' Jackson, and served as lieutenant 
of engineers until the fall of his great chief at the battle of 
Chancellorsville. He was then transferred to the staff of Gen- 
eral Edward Johnson, Ewell's Corps, and bore up under im- 
paired health until the return of the army of General Lee from 
Pennsylvania to his native soil, when he was stricken down by 
disease and brought home to die. 

" He was a young gentleman of high worth, gallant bearing. 



EDMUND KIRBY. 



319 



affectionate disposition, dutiful as a soldier, and has died in the 
very beginning of a promising manhood, a martyr to the cause 
of his country." 



EDMUND KIRBY, 



OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 58TH NORTH CAROLINA 

INFANTRY, 

The subject of this memoir was the fourth son of Major 
Reynold Marvin Kirby, 1st Regiment Artillery, U. S. Army, 
who died in the service of his country in October, 1842, of dis- 
ease contracted during the Florida war. He was also distin- 
guished and twice brevetted for gallantry in the war of 1812; 
participating in the battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane, 
and frequently received honorable mention in General Scott's 
dispatches. At the time of his death he was in command of 
Fort Sullivan, Eastport, Maine, whither he had been ordered 
at the time of the Northeastern boundary difficulties. 

The paternal grandfather of Edmund Kirby was Colonel 
Ephraim Kirby, of the Continental army, who fought at 
Bunker Hill, was on the staff of General (Lord) Stirling at the 
battle of Germantown, served with gallantry and distinction 
throughout the Revolutionary war, and was one of the origi- 
nal members of the " Society of the Cincinnati." Of great 
reputation as a jurist, the tried, trusted, and confidential friend 
of Thomas Jefferson, he took part in the negotiations for the 
purchase of Louisiana from the French, and was afterwards 
judge of the Superior Court of that State. He was born in the 
State of Connecticut, and died October 20, 1804, at Mount 
Vernon, Alabama. 

The mother of Edmund Kirby was Mary Barclay Kirby, 
daughter of David Barclay (a descendant of the family of John 
Knox, the reformer), who came from Scotland, settled in Rich- 
mond, Virginia, 1806, and in 1810 married Ann Hooff Gretter, 
of Alexandria, Virginia. 



320 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Kirby was born on the 13th of 
September, 1839, at Hancock Barracks, Houlton, Maine. His 
father dying when he was but three years old, his mother with 
her five children returned to her father's home at Richmond. 
Here "Ted," as he was familiarly called, had the advantage of 
the best primary schools of that city, and being early intended 
for a professional life, was duly fitted for admission to the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, of which he was appointed a cadet, 
and entered upon his studies as such in June, 1857. 

Here it was proposed to subject him to the usual " hazing," 
or practical jokes considered essential for matriculation by the 
senior members of the corps. To this process, however, he 
positively refused to submit, denouncing in unmeasured terms 
those who prompted, or participated in, such practice. But the 
third class did not intend that he should be an exception to the 
rule, and took measures to curb what they termed his insub- 
ordination. An opportunity was taken by several when they 
could punish him without risk of discovery or interruption by 
the professors. After remonstrating without effect, he resolved 
to fight his way through. Shaming them out of their first in- 
tention to make a combined attack, it was arranged that he 
should fight one at a time. This settled, the conflict began. 
He had placed three of his opponents Jiors du combat, when 
some older cadets coming up they stopped the unequal con- 
test, declaring that he had already earned his right to the 
respect and confidence of his comrades. Although the 
custom still prevailed, he was never known to participate in 
the ill treatment of " plebs," always maintaining that it was 
without good result, unkind, discourteous, and beneath the 
dignity of gentlemen. 

While a cadet his corps were ordered to Harper's Ferry to 
sustain the laws and the dignity of the Commonwealth, then 
outraged by the murderous raid of the fanatic John Brown. He 
remained with his corps, under the orders of the patriotic Gov- 
ernor, until the stern decree of a Virginia court of justice was 
fully carried out in the execution of the marauders. Returning 
then to the Academy, he graduated with his class in 1861. 



EDMUND KIR BY. 321 

Upon the secession of Virginia, volunteers were rapidly con- 
centrated and placed under instruction at Richmond. Young 
KiRBV, with others of his class, was detailed for special duty 
at Camp Lee, and employed in drilling and preparing the raw 
levies for active service. This duty was performed with the 
faithfulness and steadiness that characterized him, and long 
before he was called to other fields he had won not only the 
respect, but the love and confidence of men who thus learned 
from him their first lessons in war's dread school. 

Relieved from drilling these troops, he was attached to a 
Tennessee regiment, and marched with it to Harper's Ferry, 
but was compelled by severe illness to return to Richmond. 

Upon his recovery he joined Lindsay Walker's (Virginia) 
Howitzer Battery as a private, soon after its formation, and 
in a few days was made a sergeant. His thorough knowledge 
of the manual of the whole duties of a soldier, his prompt 
obedience, together with an exceedingly attractive manner, at 
once indicated his fitness for command; and although then 
in a subordinate position his officers soon evinced great confi- 
dence in him. The whole company was placed under his in- 
struction, and the efficiency it afterwards displayed in action 
amply justified the trust reposed in him. Walker's Battery 
was attached to General Anderson's command at the time 
Johnston's army fell back from Manassas Junction, and at 
Ricl^mond was assigned to A. P. Hill's Division. It was the 
first artillery to cross the Chickahominy, leading the attack on 
Mechanicsville, and firing from Storr's farm^ the first shot in 
the action. This was the commencement of the " seven da}'s' " 
fight. While the company was in camp to repair the severe 
loss sustained in this campaign, Kikby received notice of his 
assignment to duty in a new field. 

Upon the application of Colonel J. B. Palmer, commanding 
the 58th North Carolina Infantry and 5th Battalion North 
Carolina Cavalry, Edmund Kirby was transferred, in 1863, 
from Walker's Battery by the War Department and appointed 
adjutant of the 58th Regiment. As such he acted for the con- 
solidated command then in camp of instruction at Johnson's 

21 



322 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Depot, Tennessee. The command was afterwards ordered to 
the vicinity of Cumberland Gap, which post it occupied after 
the retreat of the Federal General Morgan. Here Lieutenant 
KiRBY made himself conspicuous for his zeal and efficiency; 
rendering most valuable assistance to his commander in the 
collection of supplies for Bragg's army on its retreat from 
Kentucky. Lieutenant Kirby served with his regiment in the 
department of East Tennessee and Kentucky until a short 
time before the battle of Chickamauga. While in Tennessee 
he was actively employed in imparting military information to 
the subordinate officers of his regiment (a large one of twelve 
companies) and in aiding his commander in disciplining the 
troops. For these duties the knowledge obtained at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute peculiarly fitted him. Kind and cour- 
teous in manner, he became the favorite of his regiment, and 
on the resignation of its lieutenant-colonel was almost unani- 
mously elected by his comrades to fill the vacancy. Before 
this commission had been procured from the War Department, 
but some time after he had entered upon the duties of his new 
position, the battle of Chickamauga occurred. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Kirby was, on the second day of the 
operations, placed in command of a detachment of skirmishers, 
from which he was withdrawn to join his regiment (Septem- 
ber 20, 1864) in the last charge on a strong position held by 
General Granger's troops. Through mistake the brigade went 
into the charge at an angle of about forty-five degrees with the 
line of the enemy, and in consequence his regiment, which 
was on the right of the brigade, reached the summit of the hill 
some little time before the remainder came under fire. The re- 
giment was thus subjected to a severe cross-fire, under which 
Lieutenant-Colonel Kirby fell, pierced by five balls, with the 
words, " Drive them, boys !" on his lips. 

No more gallant officer fell in that bloody conflict. He was 
an universal favorite with his regiment and in the brigade, and 
had he been spared would no doubt have attained a higher rank. 
In the brigade commander's report of the battle Lieutenant- 
Colonel Kirby's name is twice mentioned with commendation. 



FRANCIS LACKLAND. 



323 



Lieutenant-Colonel Edmund Kirby, a true soldier, worthy 
of his illustrious ancestors, was characterized by the greatest 
personal braver}^, the highest sense of honor, strict and un- 
wavering devotion to duty, and ever-ready obedience to 
orders. No individual considerations were allowed to conflict 
with duty. Privations were cheerfully submitted to, and his 
unvarying kindness to his men, and his careful attention to 
their comfort and discipline, demanded and received their 
fullest confidence and love and esteem. Quiet and unassum- 
ing in his manners, in his social and domestic relations he was 
without reproach ; the devoted son of an honored and patriotic 
mother, an affectionate brother, his many virtues will long 
make him a bright exemplar to those who survive. 

His remains, recovered and sent to his friends by sorrowing 
comrades, now repose in the family burial-plot at Shockoe 
Hill, by the side of his brother, who had earlier fallen a sacri- 
fice in the struggle for the independence of his country. Two 
brothers, who were also soldiers of the Confederacy, still sur- 
vive to cheer the declining years of one of the best of Virginia 
mothers. 



FRANCIS LACKLAND, 



OF CHARLESTOWN, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 2D VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 



Francis Lackland was born at the residence of his father, 
S. W. Lackland, near Charlestown, Jefferson County, Virginia, 
May 20, 1830. His mother was the daughter of Mr. Thomas 
Griggs, a distinguished lawyer and esteemed citizen of Jeffer- 
son County, who had held and discharged with fidelity many 
important public trusts, and who died at an advanced age 
generally lamented. Frank Lackland at an early age was 
sent to the academy in Charlestown, where he remained until 
he had completed the course of study in the institution, when 



324 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

he entered the Virginia MiHtary Institute, in Lexington, July, 
1846, where he graduated with credit in 1849, being an officer 
of the corps during his senior year. In 1850 he entered the 
engineer corps of the Alabama Railroad Company, and con- 
tinued in this service until just before the outbreak of the war. 
At the time of John Brown's raid into the State of Virginia, 
— a Quixotic piece of murderous scoundrelism, which has 
since been held up by a depraved party in this country as a 
righteous proceeding, — Mr. Lackland was among the first to 
mount his horse and call upon the young men of his county 
to hasten to Harper's Ferry to relieve its citizens from their 
danger. In May, 1861, he entered service at Harper's Ferry 
as captain of engineers, and shortly afterwards was promoted 
to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 2d Virginia Infantry, the 
pride of the Valley, as one of the regiments of the immortal 
Stonewall Brigade. At the first battle of Manassas, July 21, 
1 861, Colonel Lackland acted with marked coolness and 
gallantry, — so marked, in fact, as to be mentioned by name 
in General Johnston's official report of the battle. From the 
report of Colonel James W. Allen, commanding the 2d Regi- 
ment, is extracted the following account of the part taken in 
this battle by Colonel Lackland : "About i p.m. I was directed 
to station my regiment at the edge of a pine thicket to support 
the battery immediately on my right, with orders to fire when 
the enemy appeared in sight over the hill, then to charge and 
drive them back with the bayonet. In this position my men 
lay somewhat under cover of the hill for more than an hour 
and a half, during all of which time they were exposed to the 
effects of shell and shot from the enemy's batteries, which 
had advanced, under cover of the hills, to my left flank. 
Many of my men and officers were wounded by explosions 
which took place immediately in their midst; yet they stood 
their ground, awaiting the approach of the infantry. Colonel 
Cummings, on my left, met them, endeavoring to turn our 
flank. After advancing, two of his companies fell back 
through my left, which was kept in position by the coolness 
of Captain Nelson, who gallantly maintained his position, 



FRANCIS LACKLAND. 325 

though exposed to a front fire of grape and shell, and a flank 
fire from the enemy's musketry. At this juncture I was in- 
formed by Major Botts (whose coolness, energy, and perse- 
verance in rallying the men deserves special mention) that my 
left was turned. Not seeing the enemy in front, I directed 
that the thi'ee left companies be drawn back to meet them. 
This order was partially misunderstood by the centre com- 
panies for a general direction to fall back, and all the line 
turned. I at once gave the order to charge ; but the thicket 
was so close and impenetrable that only a part of the right 
wing, under Lieutenant-Colonel Lackland, could be rallied 
about thirty yards in rear of the original position, the enemy 
having advanced to the position originally held by the left of 
the regiment, judging by their fire, for it was impossible to see 
them. 

" At this moment. Colonel Preston, who was on my right, 
and in rear of the battery, advanced, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lackland, with about one hundred of my right, charged on 
the enemy's battery, drove them from their pieces, and took 
position immediately in front of the guns, sheltering them- 
selves as much as possible by them. Wishing to secure one 
of the rifle cannon, he ordered five or six men to take it to the 
rear, but had not proceeded more than fifty yards when the 
enemy opened on his right, which was unsupported, and he 
was compelled to retire with the few men under his command, 
having lost nine killed and thirty-four wounded in the charge. 
The line did not retire until after our battery was withdrawn. 

" The list of killed and wounded having been handed in, it is 
unnecessary to repeat it. I cannot, however, close this report 
without again making honorable mention of Captain Nelson, 
who gallantly fell at his post, supposed to be mortally wounded, 
and to the gallantry of Lieutenant-Colonel Lackland, who, 
with but a handful of men, charged on the enemy's battery 
and actually brought one of their rifled guns to the rear with 
but four men." 

The effect of exposure in this battle and previous service 
was to brinix on a lonir and tedious illness, which so enfeebled 



326 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



him as to require his return to his home, where he continued 
to h'nger to the day of his lamented death, September 4, 1861, 
in the thirty-first year of his age. During his long illness he 
was led to reflect deeply and seriously on the great subject of 
religion, and expressed his purpose henceforth to be the sol- 
dier of Jesus Christ. He died of disease of the heart aggra- 
vated by the exposure, excitement, and fatigue of camp-life 
and of the great battle of Manassas. 

Resolutions on Colonel Lackland's death were passed by 
the officers of his regiment, from which we make an extract : 
" Not only this regiment, but the State of Virginia and the 
Confederate States of America, are all sufferers by this painful 
visitation, which has deprived us of an officer skilled to fulfill 
all the duties of his military office, zealous to ascertain and 
meet all the demands of his State and country, courageous in 
personal danger, wise in council, and devoted in heart and 
mind to the interests of his country." 

As an evidence of the estimate in which he was held in 
his own community, this sketch is closed with an editorial 
which appeared in the Spirit of jfcffcrsou the morning after 
his death : 

"The sensation produced in our community by the unex- 
pected intelligence of the death of Lieutenant-Colonel Frank 
Lackland, of the 2d Virginia Regiment of Volunteers, was 
most profound. To many of his warm and devoted friends 
it may well be said, ' it fell like a fire-bell at midnight.' But, 
alas, too true, the young, the gallant, the brave, and chivalric 
Lackland is no more ! having breathed his last at the family 
homestead, near Charlestown, on this morning (Wednesday, 
September 4), in the thirty-first year of his age. He entered 
the service as a lieutenant-colonel, in delicate health, yet 
neither the advantage of position nor the entreaty of friends 
could prevent him from sharing alike with all his comrades in 
arms the exposure of camp, the fatigue of drill, and of all else 
that which was most dear to his heart, the danger and peril of 
battle. The bloody record of Manassas bears evidence of his 
undaunted courage, scientific skill, ardent and patriotic devo- 



y. K. LANGHORNE. 327 

tion to his native State. On the memorable 21st there was no 
post of danger that he did not covet, that honor might be won 
by his regiment and victory for the day. Yet he went through 
all the perils of the bloody plain unscathed, and returned home, 
with severe indisposition, a week ago to-day, and now sleeps 
the sleep of the gallant soldier's solitude." 

" An hour ago thou wert all life, 
With fiery soul and eye, 
Rushing amid the kindling strife 

To do thy best or die ! 
And now alone a mass of clay 
Is stretched upon the v;arrior's way !" 



J. K. LANGHORNE, 

OF MONTGOMERY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 2D VIRGINIA CAVALRY, 

Jacob Kent Langhorke was born in Christiansburg, 
Montgomery County, Virginia, March i, 1845; his parents 
removing in his infancy to the adjoining county of Roanoke, 
where his childhood was spent amid the refined and softening 
influences of a well-regulated home, and the cultivated society 
by which that home was surrounded. His early education 
was intrusted to governess and tutor at intervals, under the 
auspices of parental discipline. His naturally cold and chival- 
rous spirit was softened to almost feminine gentleness by the 
constant companionship of a sister to whom he was devotedly 
attached. At fourteen years of age he removed with his 
father again to Montgomery County, where he remained until 
the breaking out of the war between the States. He was 
anxious at once to enlist. It was with difficulty, therefore, 
that his parents prevailed on liim to enter the Virginia Military 
Institute as a cadet, in August, 1862. But, as our unhappy 
struggle progressed, and the South needed the active services 



328 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of all her sons, his gallant spirit chafed under academic fet- 
ters, and, at his earnest solicitation, he left the Institute, in 
February, 1863. Scarcely attaining his eighteenth year, he 
joined the 2d Virginia Cavalry, and endured whatever priva- 
tion and hardship he encountered with that unselfish cheer- 
fulness which characterized his whole life. But ere two 
months of his soldier-life were accon^plished, he had sealed 
his devotion to his country's cause with his life's blood. He 
was mortally wounded in an engagement of his regiment, 
under command of Colonel Munford, with the Federal 
troops, near Brandy Station, on the 9th of June, 1863. His 
remains were borne to the home of his stricken parents by 
the tender care of a youthful comrade, to add one more to 
the gallant dead who have fallen to sleep under that flag 
which is now furled forever, but who will live in history and 
the hearts of their countrymen as long as liberty has a 
votary, and when those who have survived the struggle will 
have faded from the memory of men. 



JOSEPH W. LATIMER, 

OF PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, ANDREWS'S BATTALION. 

Joseph White Latimer, seventh son of Samuel and Char- 
lotte A. Latimer, was born at Oak Grove, Prince William 
County, Virginia, on the 27th of August, 1843. ^^ entered 
the Virginia Military Institute in 1859, ^""^ ^^ the outbreak of 
the war, volunteering his services to the State, was assigned 
to duty at the camp of instruction at Richmond. The story 
of his military life, from this period until his final promotion, 
is thus told by his friend and first captain, Colonel A. R. 
Courtney, of Richmond : 

" My acquaintance with Latimer began with his entrance 



JOSEPH W. LATIMER. 329 

upon active life, about June, 1861, when, with some three or 
four other cadets, he was sent down to the Fair Grounds, — 
afterwards Camp Lee, — to the artillery camp at Richmond 
College, to drill the companies there. He was assigned to 
the ' Hampden Artillery,' Captain Lawrence S. Marye, of 
which company I was lieutenant. He was then about 
eighteen years of age, small but well formed, and of an ex- 
tremely youthful appearance in the face, and but for a solid, 
imperturbable earnestness with which he gave all his orders, 
connected with an unusual readiness and precision in the de- 
tails of instruction, the officers and men would have con- 
sidered it humiliating to be placed under the tuition of such a 
child. But all soon becoming impressed with his thorough 
knowledge of his profession, and by his cheerful, amiable dis- 
position and ardent, sanguine temperament, he thus won our 
affections. While on drill we paid him the utmost respect, 
both men and officers yielding prompt obedience to every 
order, and off drill we fondled and caressed him as if he 
were a child. He was the officers' ' pet,' and we always spoke 
of him as ' our little Latimer.' 

"A short time before Marye's Battery was ordered to the 
field, in July, 1861, I accepted the command of a new com- 
pany, organized in the county of Henrico and the suburbs of 
the city of Richmond, resigned my position in the ' Hamp- 
den Artillery,' and was thus separated from Latimer for some 
time. The next I heard of him was through a letter written 
to me from his home near Brentsville, Priuce William County, 
Virginia, stating that, the cadets having been disbanded, he 
was entirely out of service, and had nothing to do ; that he 
could not be content to remain thus idle when everybody 
else was busy preparing to meet the coming storm, and asked 
that I would permit him to come to my mess, as he had been 
in Marye's company, offering in return to do anything he 
could to assist me about drilling and equipping my company 
for the field. I replied, inviting him to come. He did so, 
and remained with me at my camp near Richmond until we 
left for the front, sometimes drilling the company, and at all 



330 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



times making himself serviceable in numerous ways, which 
his sober, sound judgment and extensive information in mili- 
tary matters well qualified him for. 

"September 14, 1861, my battery was ordered to report to 
General Joseph E. Johnston, at Manassas. The day before 
we started, Roscoe B. Heath, Esq., who was sejiior second 
lieutenant of the company, was promoted to the rank of cap- 
tain in the Adjutant-General's Department, and assigned to 
duty with General Joseph R. Anderson. This vacancy had 
to be filled at once, as we were on the eve of going, as we 
thought, into immediate action. Latimer had decided to go 
with me to the field, and remain as he was until some oppor- 
tunity presented for more efficient and honorable operation. 
Here was an opportunity to secure his valuable services to 
myself and my company permanently. At that time all offi- 
cers had to be elected by the company, and of course the 
men would desire to elect one of their own companions ; and 
besides this, that prejudice against having a 'little boy' over 
them, so natural to men, was not wanting in the company. 
These appeared insurmountable obstacles to the success of 
my wishes in the matter, but I determined to make the effort, 
and, without going into details, will simply say that, with the 
assistance of that noble man, now no more. Captain Roscoe 
B. Heath, I succeeded most happily, and Latimer was, on 
September 15, 1861, duly installed senior second lieutenant 
of ' Courtney Artillery,' and the next day started with us to 
the front, the happiest little fellow I ever saw. While others 
were weeping and sad at parting with friends and families, 
our little lieutenant was all smiles at the bright prospect of 
being able to show that he could and would do something in 
and for our common cause. 

" After this, nothing occurred of interest in his military 
career until the spring of 1862, when he was under fire for 
the first time, on the Rappahannock River, upon the retire- 
ment of the army from Manassas. Being attached to General 
Ewell's Division, we stopped on the Rappahannock while the 
remainder of the army went to the Peninsula. After a few 



JOSEPH W. LATIMER. 33 I 

days the enemy came up on the opposite side of the river, 
and commenced firing with their artillery across into our 
lines. My battery was ordered to go forward and engage 
them. This was an epoch in the history of the company. 
We had for nearly twelve months been organized, going 
through the motions of loading and firing, and had indeed 
sometimes by special permission practiced in actual firing 
(blank cartridges, however). But now we were about to fire 
loaded cartridges at human beings, and, what was not the 
least consideration, be ourselves fired at. Some were nervous, 
some sad, some more than naturally cheerful and jocular, but 
little Latimer was busy about his section, seeing that every- 
thing was in place and ready for action ; prompt and particu- 
lar, but a little serious. Presently the command, ' Forward !' 
was given, and soon we were on the field of action, and at it 
hot and heavy, engaged in what later in the war would have 
been called a spirited artillery duel ; then considered a heavy 
artillery battle. Latimer stood between his guns, and worked 
them with the precision and almost the same coolness as 
when on drill. The enemy's shot and shell flew thick and 
fast ; presently a limber-chest is blown up ; two men are 
hurled down the hill all blackened and burnt; and then, after 
an hour's duration, the duel ended without other casualties, 
and the battery returned to camp. 

■ "That night as we lay together upon the ground, my little 
comrade drew closer to me, and said, ' Well, captain, I feel 
so thankful that I have passed through this fight so well as I 
have.' Thinking he alluded to his not having received a 
wound, I replied that I was more than glad, and thankful that 
he had escapeti unhurt. He said, 'Oh, no; I don't mean 
that; I rather wish I. had received a small wound, so I might 
see how I would bear it. What I meant was this : I was so 
glad I was able to stay at my post and do my duty during the 
fight, and not run away. I have always wondered how I 
would feel in a fight, and sometimes have felt a little afraid 
that I would not be able to control myself perhaps, and might 
do somethinc^ that would dis":race me. But I have tried it 



332 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



now, and find what I can stand, and have no uneasiness for 
the future.' A noble and striking instance of subhme moral 
courage, the only genuine and reliable bravery. Though not 
unmindful of danger, he held every feeling and passion sub- 
servient to the commands of duty. 

" At the reorganization of the company that spring, a short 
time after the occurrences just mentioned, Latimer was elected 
first lieutenant. This promotion was the voluntary act of the 
men, who had been won over to him by his, conduct in the 
recent engagement. This was at Stanardsville, in Greene 
County, on our march to join General Jackson, which we did a 
few days after at Winchester. In all the battles and skirmishes 
which followed in quick succession during that Valley cam- 
paign, he showed increased coolness and intrepidity. After 
the battle at ' Cross Keys,' where our battery was engaged 
continuously for five hours. General Trimble, to whose bri- 
gade we were at that time attached, published an order no- 
ticing the conduct of the company, and brevetted our little 
lieutenant " captain of artillery," and soon after (immediately 
after the seven days' fight around Richmond) he was regu- 
larly commissioned from the War Department captain of the 
Courtney Artillery, to fill the vacancy occasioned by my pro- 
motion. In this position he continued until his promotion to 
the rank of major, in April, 1863. Being assigned to another 
department previous to this time, I was separated from Lati- 
mer, and can give no further information of his military life. 

" Of Major Latimer's moral character, I can truly say that 
in moderation and propriety of word and action he was an 
example. He was not connected with any church, but emi- 
nently religious in walk and conversation, and often expressed 
his faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why he was not con- 
nected with any church I cannot say, but am induced to be- 
lieve from his often expressed acknowledgments of his duty to 
be so, and hope to be at some future day, that he delayed this 
step only for a suitable opportunity as he considered it." 

After his promotion. Major Latimer was assigned to duty 
With Andrews's Battalion, in command of which he received 



JOSEPH IV. LATIMER. 333 

his mortal wound at Gettysburg, on the 2d of July, 1863. 
While gallantly cheering on his men, a fragment of a shell 
struck his right arm, shattering it completely. As he was 
carried off the field, he passed his old battery, held up the 
stump of his mangled arm, and in a clear and steady voice 
exhorted them to fight harder than ever and avenge his loss. 
Captain Dement, who was attached to the same battalion, 
says, " I was with Major Latimer on the field of Gettysburg, 
assisted in taking him from under his horse (which was killed 
at the time he was wounded), and carried him from the field. 
His bearing during the day was most gallant, showing the 
greatest coolness and bravery under the most trying circum- 
stances. While under his horse he continued to give orders, 
and seemed to think only of his command." 

After amputation, which was immediately necessary, he was 
taken to the house of a private family near Winchester. He 
bore his loss like a true soldier, and for some days, it is said, 
seemed to be doing well. On the 22d, not wishing to fall into 
the hands of the advancing enemy, he left Winchester, and was 
carried to Harrisonburg, to the house of Mrs. Warren, where 
he received every attention the noble-hearted family could 
bestow. Notwithstanding this he grew worse daily, and his 
friends were written for. On the 30th his brother reached him, 
and found him very ill. On the 31st his mind seemed to 
wander, but at intervals he was perfectly conscious. He lin- 
gered until the 1st of August, when, just as the morning sun 
was shedding its light o'er earth and sky, his spirit passed 
away. He had never made any public profession of religion, 
but in all his letters written to his friends while he was in the 
army, there was a religious spirit breathing throughout. In 
a conversation with his brother, Dr. L., a day or two before 
his death, he said, " If I grow worse I want you to tell me, 
for I have always told you that I was not afraid to die." 
Shortly afterwards, seeing that he appeared to be rapidly sink- 
ing. Dr. L. aroused him, and said, "Joseph, do you know how 
ill you are ?" " Yes," said he, " I am very ill." He was then 
asked if he was afraid to die : " No," was his reply, " for my 



334 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

trust is in God." The day before his death a minister called 
to see him, and after praying with him, asked, " Major Lati- 
mer, on what do you base your hopes for the future ?" " Not 
on good works," he replied, " but on the merits of Jesus Christ 
alone." 

Major Latimer, though not twenty years old at the time of 
his death, had occupied posts of great honor and responsi- 
bility, and enjoyed the perfect confidence of men and officers. 
When a lieutenant, and under the command of General Jack- 
son, the latter, in his report of the battles of the Valley, says : 
" Lieutenant Latimer was in command of the ' Courtney Ar- 
tillery,' and was exposed during the whole affair to a heavy 
cannonade. This young officer was conspicuous for the cool- 
ness, judgment, and skill with which he managed his battery, 
fully supporting the opinion I had formed of his high merit." 
Thus was he spoken of by the now immortal Stonewall, with 
whom he was an acknowledged favorite. Many such compli- 
ments did he receive from officers of high rank. General 
Ewell often called him his little Napoleon. Those under his 
command all loved him, and never was one heard to speak of 
him in any but terms of the highest praise. 

His body lies in the cemetery at Harrisonburg. To per- 
petuate the memory of his noble life and heroic death this 
sketch is written, in the full knowledge that justice is not and 
cannot be done him by the poor tribute of the pen. 

" For to die 
With equal lustre, is a blessing Heaven 
Selects from all the choicest boons of Fate, 
And with a sparing hand on few bestows." 



CHARLES E. LAUCK, M.D. 335 



CHARLES E. LAUCK, M.D., 

OF WINCHESTER, VIRGINIA ; SECOND LIEUTENANT, 4TH VIRGINIA 
INFANTRY. 

Charles Edward Lauck was the third son of Jacob and 
Comfort W. Lauck, and was born in Winchester, Frederick 
County, Virginia. In early childhood he was distinguished 
for truthfulness, industry, and obedience to parental require- 
ments. It was at this place where, being placed under the 
charge of the most competent instructors, the foundation of 
his education was solidly laid. 

After passing through the highest schools that were then 
at Winchester, he spent a few years with his brother-in-law 
(S. R. Atwell), a successful tobacco merchant ; but finding that 
there was too much sameness and tameness in such a voca- 
tion for one capacitated for the " arts and sciences," he sought 
a change that would be more agreeable to his tastes. A 
vacancy occurring at this time in the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, which was to be filled by the appointment of a " State 
cadet" from the senatorial district in which he lived, he deter 
mined to apply for the position. 

There were a number of applicants, some of whom were 
highly recommended; but, as he preferred entering the Insti- 
tute on the ground of true merit and qualification rather than 
on the recommendations of influential friends, he visited, and 
was examined personally by, the Hon. C. J. Faulkner. Shortly 
after his return he was notified that he was the successful 
applicant. 

A new, field being thus opened before him, and one in which 
he could pursue his favorite studies to greater advantage, he 
immediately made the necessary arrangements, and, with a 
heart fully fixed on the work before him, entered upon the 
realities of Institute life. 

Having pursued his studies faithfully and advantageously 



336 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

for four consecutive years, he graduated on the 4th of July, 
1854, with the fourth honor of his class. 

In mathematics, which was his favorite study, the writer is 
satisfied that he had no equal in the Institute, and not a great 
many superiors anywhere else. The most difficult problems 
and abstruse propositions contained in any of the text-books 
were mastered with the apparent readiness and ease with 
which a child's toys are disposed. He also " stood high" on 
all the other studies, excepting that of languages. It was 
because of his deficiency here that his aggregate standing 
was brought down. 

On entering the Institute it was his purpose to qualify him- 
self for engineering ; but his mind having undergone a change, 
after teaching the requisite time in the State, he determined to 
prepare himself for the medical profession. Being equally 
successful in his studies in that department of science, he 
graduated at the medical college in Winchester, Virginia, in 
the spring of 1859. 

He then removed to Rockbridge County, Virginia, where, 
according to a previous engagement, he was united in mar- 
riage, June 5, 1859, to Miss Sallie Agnes, daughter of Jonathan 
and Catherine Eads. 

He was residing at Buffalo Forge, in Rockbridge County, 
and engaged in the practice of his profession, when his heart, 
like that of every true patriot, was made to quiver at the alarm 
of war ! 

He was conscientious in the belief that his allegiance was 
due first to his native State. And when the time for reason- 
ing had passed, when the lines of demarkation were distinctly 
drawn, when the " clash of resounding arms" was' heard, he 
laid aside the " art of healing," and applied himself with a 
decided will to that of making patients. 

His first service was rendered in the Valley of Virginia, at 
Winchester. Having accepted the appointment of " drill- 
master," he spent the summer of 1861 in training the militia 
of Frederick and the adjoining counties. 

When the militia of those counties were taken into the 



CHARLES E. LAUCK, M.D. 337 

regular service, he returned to Rockbridge County to arrange 
his domestic affairs preparatory to entering upon another and 
regular campaign. 

During this interval he was urged by some of his friends 
to take a position as surgeon, to which suggestions his reply 
was, " That, I know, would be an easier position, but there 
are plenty of others who were educated solely for the medical 
profession who can attend to all those duties. I can render 
more efficient service elsewhere." 

Believing that bullet-distributers would render the most 
acceptable service to the Confederacy, and without waiting 
for an appointment, in March, 1862, he volunteered, as a pri- 
vate, in the 4th Virginia Regiment, " Stonewall" Brigade. 

He participated in all the marches and battles of that bri- 
gade during the memorable campaign of 1862 in the Valley 
of Virginia. 

A few days after the battle of Cross Keys he was elected 
second lieutenant, in which capacity he served through the 
" seven days' fight" against McClellan in front of Richmond. 
This was the last engagement in which he participated. Being 
overcome with fatigue and drinking the impure water of that 
swampy region were the causes, in part at least, of his contract- 
ing the disease of which he died, on the 7th of August, 1862. 

Had he left the brigade sooner, in order to receive the 
medical treatment, the rest, and the nursing that his disease 
(typhoid fever) demanded, he might have recovered; but he 
was too anxious to be always at the post of duty. 

It was only after considerable effort that the writer suc- 
ceeded finally in getting him away from camp while the 
brigade was lying near Gordonsville. He was taken on the 
cars to Albemarle County, to the residence of Mr. Hart. 
Here he received all the attention that friends and relatives 
could bestow, but the disease was too deeply seated to yield 
to human skill. 

It is due to Mr. Hart and his estimable wife, and also to 
their servants, to say that they did all that friends could do. 
Their kindness will never be forgotten. 

22 



338 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



His remains were taken to Rockbridge County, and interred 
at the Falling Spring Church. 

It is a source of comfort to all his real friends to know that 
his life was given in defense of his native State, and that he 
died in the discharge of duty ; but it affords the greatest con- 
solation to believe, as we have every reason to, that he died 
as Christians die, and that his spirit is at rest ! 



WILLIAM F. LEE, 

OF ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL, 33D VIRGINIA IN- 
FANTRY. 

William Fitzhugh Lee was born in the city of Richmond, 
in April, 1832. The dying blessing of his good father, the 
late Rev. William F. Lee, rested upon him from his fifth year, 
and all through his fatherless boyhood and matured life there 
was a chivalry in his devotion to his widowed mother that 
made him ever mindful of her happiness, proving a check to 
him in youthful temptations, and an incentive to strive that 
her hopes for him might be fully realized. 

After his father's death he spent several years in Alexan- 
dria; then two years in the home of his kind and attached 
uncle, Edmund J. Lee, Esq., of Shepherdstown, West Vir- 
ginia. At ten he was entered at the Episcopal High School, 
then under the rectorship of the Rev. W. N, Pendleton, D.D. 
Afterwards he was a pupil of the Rev, George A. Smith, prin- 
cipal of the Fairfax Institute. 

In October, 1850, young Lee entered the Virginia Military 
Institute, becoming a member of the third class. Here he 
remained, pursuing the prescribed course of instruction, until 
July, 1853, when he was graduated. During his senior year 
he was chosen by his class to deliver the usual valedictory 
address. This address, carefully preserved until the war by 



WILLIAM F. LEE. 339 

his mother, was taken by a Federal chaplain from some sol- 
diers, who, in ransacking her house, had gotten possession of 
it, and sent it to his wife to be returned to Mrs. Lee at the 
first opportunity. The chaplain died in Virginia, but in 1870 
his widow, after many fruitless efforts, succeeded in restoring 
the paper. This is mentioned as an instance of kindness not 
too often paralleled in the general heartlessness of the war. 

But the most important event of his cadet-life was his be- 
coming a servant of that blessed Saviour to whom he had 
been consecrated in his infancy. With many of his com- 
rades, he took up the cross of Jesus, and manfully bore it 
through life, proving the power of religious principle to be so 
strong in him that it was his guide, comfort, and protector in 
every trial. 

After leaving the Institute, Mr. Lee was for a short period 
engaged as a civil engineer ; then taught in Fauquier County 
until June, 1855, when he received a commission as second 
lieutenant in the 2d Regiment United States Infantry. Be- 
fore accepting this position, he went home to consult his 
mother, knowing how her heart was filled with the hope that 
he might become a minister of the Gospel. She left the de- 
cision to his conscience, and the guidance and blessing of 
that Providence by whom he had been ever led in safety. 

For four years he was at remote frontier posts, winning the 
respect and approbation of his ofificers and men, often assist- 
ing his captain in reading the service on Sunday to the 
soldiers. Returning to Virginia on furlough, in 1859, he 
married Miss Lily Parran, of Shepherdstown, Virginia, and 
soon returning to a distant post, resumed active duty. In 
1861 he was at the arsenal near St. Louis. While rejoicing 
over his first child, — a daughter, — news came of the stirring 
events transpiring in his native State. Lieutenant Lee ex- 
pressed his disapprobation of the course being pursued by 
the Federal Government towards the South ; was arrested by 
Captain Lyons, of bloody notoriety, and kept a prisoner until 
court-martialed. After his release, sending in his resignation, 
he hurried to Virginia to offer her his sword. Through the 



340 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL 



influence of his relative, Colonel R. E, Lee, he was appointed 
captain in the Confederate army, and was ordered to duty at 
Harper's Ferry. Here he was actively engaged in the train- 
ing of the raw recruits of the recently-formed army, and 
afterwards, more especially in the neighborhood of Romney, 
performed laborious service as a drill-master and recruiting 
officer. While thus engaged he was commissioned lieutenant- 
colonel of the 33d Virginia Infantry. 

Colonel Lee assumed immediately the duties of his office, 
and with his regiment took part in Johnston's movement to 
reinforce Beauregard at Manassas. Passing hastily through 
Winchester, he could only snatch a few minutes to take leave 
of his young wife and daughter ; only time to say a few 
words to that loving wife, — to cheer her with his own strong 
faith, — and then to march away to victory and to death. 
That Sunday morning, July 21, 1861, on the field of Manas- 
sas, twice did he lead on his men, and capture Rickett's Bat- 
tery ; but so galling was the fire that each time it was lost. 
The third time it was taken and kept ; but ere this was 
accomplished Colonel Lee fell mortally wounded. In the 
second charge a fragment of a shell struck him upon the 
breast-bone, and rebounded ; but the blow broke the bone, 
driving a large fragment into the cavity of the chest. Taken 
first to the field-hospital, then removed to a private house in 
the vicinity, he lingered several days, tenderly nursed by his 
wife and friends, and visited by his father's friend, the Rev. 
Dr. Andrews. Perfectly resigned to the will of his heavenly 
Father, still, his love for his mother made him call often for 
her, and sorrow for the crushing blow that he knew was so 
soon to fall upon her. He had lived a soldier and a Chris- 
tian ; he died proudly vindicating his title to the former, and 
through faith in Christ Jesus humbly trustful that he was the 
latter. 

Of his character as a soldier. Dr. Hunter McGuire, General 
Jackson's medical director, says, — 

" While he was at the field-hospital. General Jackson came 
back wounded in the hand. He saw Lee, spoke of his gal- 



JAMES C. LEFTWICH. 34 1 

lantry and courage in the highest terms, and expressed the 
most profound regret at his loss. He was a gallant soldier, a 
true man, and a serious loss to us all." 

The Rev. Dr. Norton, of Alexandria, speaking of Colonel 
Lee's religious character, says, — 

" He was for some time my parishioner, and for a longer 
time my attached friend. The development of his religious 
life was like that of his natural constitution, — modest, con- 
siderate of others, yet decided in all his conduct; so, in 
religion, he was diffident of making professions beyond his 
experience, glad to learn of those who were older, but true 
to his convictions, and inflexible in resolution. There was 
such manliness and earnestness in his deportment as a mem- 
ber of the church as to call forth the respect of all who knew 
him ; and those who knew him well, as it was the privilege of 
the writer to know him, were not at all surprised at his sub- 
sequent career as the patriotic servant of his country and the 
true soldier of Jesus. I had hoped much that, after the full 
growth of his character, ripened by experience, he might be- 
come a clergyman, thus following in the footsteps of the 
father whose memory he so much honored ; but this, as so 
many other hopes, was blighted in the early close of his 
earthly labors." 



JAMES C. LEFTWICH, 

OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " I," 2D VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

James Clayton Leftwich, son of Alexander Leftwich, was 
born in Franklin County, Virginia, March 10, 1839. He 
entered the Virginia Military Institute in February, 1859, 
where he remained until the cadets were ordered to Rich- 
mond, in April, 1861. Here he remained as a drill-master 
until the early part of June, when he was sent in the same 



342 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



capacity to Lynchburg, remaining there until the middle of 
July, when he volunteered in Co. " B," 14th Virginia Infantry, 
commanded by his brother. Captain Thomas Leftwich. After 
being in service for two months, at the earnest solicitation 
of his parents he returned to the Institute. But college-life 
had lost all its charms for him, as was shown by his urgent 
appeals to his parents to consent to his joining his friends and 
classmates in the army. Having at length obtained their 
consent, he immediately made the necessary preparation, and 
joined Co. " I," 2d Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Captain 
J. D. Alexander. He was in all the battles around Richmond 
from the 26th to the 30th of June, 1862, and bore a conspicu- 
ous part in all the battles in which the 2d Virginia Cavalry was 
engaged, up to the time of the battle of Kelly's Ford, 17th 
of March, 1863, where his horse was shot under him and he 
was captured. Our cavalry drove the enemy back, but to pre- 
vent his recapture, or escape rather, they shot him in the left 
side, the ball lodging in the spine. His w^ound proved mortal ; 
he lingered in excruciating agony until the tenth day of the 
following June, when he died at the house of his brother, in 
Bedford County, Virginia. 

A gallant and fearless soldier, ever at his post, always in the 
hottest of the fight, he received his death-blow from an un- 
w^orthy foe, who violated every law of humanity and civiliza- 
tion in their dastardly act. 

In private life modest and unassuming, high-toned and 
generous, highly gifted and accomplished, he was very dear 
to friends and relatives. 



RICHARD LOGAN, JR. 343 



RICHARD LOGAN, Jr., 

OF HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " H," I4TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. * 

Richard Logan, Jr., third son of Richard and Margaret 
Logan, was born on the 3d of December, 1829, in Halifax 
County, Virginia. His early education was received at the 
Academy at Halifax Court-House, Virginia, which school he 
continued to attend until the summer of 1846. In September 
of that year he was sent to the Virginia Military Institute, — 
entering the third class, — and remained there until 1849, when 
he graduated. On returning home he selected the profession 
of civil engineering, for which his education had so well fitted 
him, and was for some time engaged on railroads in Virginia. 
He was subsequently employed on a road in Ohio, but his 
health becoming impaired he returned to Virginia and devoted 
himself to agricultural pursuits, settling upon a plantation 
near the village of Meadsville, in his native county. 

He was a true son of Virginia, sensitively alive to all that 
concerned her honor or welfare. As soon, therefore, as it was 
ascertained that the State would probably secede from the 
Union a volunteer company was raised in his vicinity, to the 
command of which he was called by acclamation. He at once 
addressed himself with zeal and energy to the duties which 
his new position imposed, laboring earnestly to prepare his 
company for the stirring scenes in which it was destined to 
play so active and distinguished a part. But little time, how- 
ever, was left for this. As soon as the note of war was 
sounded, and the call to arms went forth from the capital of 
the State to every city, town, and hamlet within her borders, 
this company was not slow to respond, but at once com- 
menced active preparation for its departure, and soon repaired 
to Richmond, where, on the 1st of May, 1 861, it was mustered 
into the service of the State. It was subsequently transferred, 



344 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



as were all the Virginia troops, to the service of the Confed- 
erate States, and on the organization of the 14th Virginia 
Regiment was assigned to it and designated as Co. " H." 
This regiment became a part of Armistead's Brigade, which 
was organized at Suffolk, Virginia, in the spring of 1862, and 
which was assigned successively to Huger's, Anderson's, and 
Pickett's Divisions, joining the latter at Culpeper Court-House, 
Virginia, in the fall of that year. The regiment was first en- 
gaged at Seven Pines, and subsequently, with distinction, in 
the bloody battle of Malvern Hill, — Captain Logan being in 
command during the latter part of that engagement. On the 
organization of the Army of Northern Virginia, the division 
to which this brigade belonged was assigned to Longstreet's 
Corps, and was engaged in nearly all the great battles after- 
wards fought by this army, except the battle of Chancellors- 
ville, at which time the division was investing Suffolk. 

Captain Logan commanded his company in all these battles 
up to the day of his death, — second Manassas, Sharpsburg, 
Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, Suffolk, and, lastly, in the 
great battle of Gettysburg. He led his company in the cele- 
brated charge of Pickett's Division, and on the ever-memora- 
ble 3d of July, 1863, at the close of the action, after having 
aided in capturing the enemy's guns, fell facing the enemy, 
pierced by a ball, which passed entirely through his body 
about the region of the heart. He died instantly, without 
uttering a word. 

His fall was for a long time in doubt, and though the most 
anxious forebodings were felt by his relatives and friends, it 
was yet hoped that he might be among the thousands of 
gallant men who, in the very hour of victory, were made 
prisoners. This hope, alas! was destined to be disappointed, 
certain information having been subsequently received making 
known the manner of his death as above detailed. 

Richard Logan, Sr., the father of Captain Logan, was a dis- 
tinguished member of the Halifax bar, known and respected 
far and near for his talents, his high character, his stern and 
unbending integrity. He was repeatedly elected by the people 



RICHARD LOGAN, JR. 345 

of his county to stations of high public trust, having been 
a member of the Convention of 1829-30, and frequently of 
the Senate of Virginia. Mrs. Logan was a daughter of Col- 
onel Henry E. Coleman, of Halifax County, from whom the 
large, wealthy, and respectable family of that name, so well 
known in South-side Virginia, was descended. 

Captain Logan inherited from his parents a mind distin- 
guished by sound judgment and practical good sense, and a 
warm and affectionate heart, which made him friends wherever 
he was thrown, in school, at college, in camp. His sound 
judgment, his high and chivalrous courage, his perfect sin- 
cerity, his genial good nature and modest demeanor, com- 
manded the respect and won the esteem and affection of all 
with whom he came in contact, and made him a favorite 
wherever he was known. He was singularly well fitted for 
command, by talents, character, and education, having that 
happy faculty which enabled him to enforce the necessary 
discipline without losing the respect and affection of his men. 

He would have filled a much higher station in the service 
with credit to himself and advantage to the country, and 
would doubtless have been promoted had he or his friends 
exerted themselves to that end. He seems, however, to have 
been actuated rather by a sense of duty than a desire for per- 
sonal distinction, and was content to perform faithfully the 
duties of the position to which he had been called by his 
company, and preferred to remain with those — the sons of his 
friends and neighbors — who had been, as it were, intrusted to 
his care. 

It so happened that there were no vacancies in the regi- 
mental offices of the 14th until the battle of Gettysburg, 
which proved so destructive to that gallant regiment, and in 
which Captain Logan himself fell. Thus it was that he failed 
to reach the high official position which he so well merited. 
This, however, is a matter of but little moment. He was 
loved and respected for what he was and what he did, — his 
warm heart, his manly courage, his gallant bearing, his faithful 
performance of duty. A higher position might have opened 



346 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

to him a wider sphere of usefulness and influence ; it could 
have added nothing to the esteem and affection with which he 
was regarded by those who knew and appreciated him, and 
who watched with just pride his honorable career from the 
day of its commencement to that of its close on the bloody 
field of Gettysburg. 

N, T. Green. 



ALEXANDER LYLE, 

OF CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, MOSBY's CAVALRY. 

The subject of this brief sketch was born October 14, 1844, 
at the place called Timber Ridge, in Charlotte County, Vir- 
ginia, then the residence of his maternal grandfather. Dr. A. 
D. Alexander. It was in this part of the State, not far from 
the graves of Henry and Randolph, that young Lyle passed 
his early years and received his early schooling. From the 
first he manifested a fondness for books, having learned to 
read when only three years old. Alexander was the son of 
A. A. and Mary Q. Lyle, both of Scotch-Irish blood, and de- 
scended from ancestors who formed a part of the colony that 
settled the Valley of Virginia. 

In the year 1861, Lyle, then a lad of hardly more than six- 
teen, entered the Military Institute at Lexington, where he 
remained under the manly tutelage and strict discipline of 
that well-known institution until the cadets were ordered to 
the front, and, abandoning their tents and barracks and the 
daily spectacle of mimic war, followed their brave leader to 
the scene of actual conflict. Fired with the same patriotic 
thirst for distinction, Lyle was eager to be of the number of 
those ardent young spirits who were taken to the field; but, 
in consequence of his immature years, he was denied this 
privilege (as he regarded it), and advised to bide his time, 



ALEXANDER LYLE. 



347 



and in the meanwhile to be content to serve his country in 
other and less conspicuous ways. He joined the command 
of Colonel Mosby. This was before he had reached his seven- 
teenth birthday. He continued dutifully at his post till the 
summer of 1863, when he was mortally wounded in a cavalry 
fight at Warrenton Junction, In this condition he fell into 
the hands of the enemy, by whom he was carried to Alexan- 
dria, where he died in hospital in the month of June of that 
year, and was decently buried in the neighboring cemetery. 
Just one year had elapsed since his devoted brother, Captain 
Matthew Lyle, fell in battle at Gaines's Mills, after greatly 
exposing his person, and while leading his company in a 
gallant and successful movement against the enemy's works. 
The younger Lyle died composedly in his bed about two 
o'clock in the afternoon, surrounded by ministrations of kind- 
ness and sympathy. Conscious, and notified by the United 
States chaplain, who attended him to the last, that the change 
was approaching, he asked that he might not be left alone. 
When it came, he met it with fortitude and resignation, and 
passed away without visible pain or struggle. The evening 
before, he had had a long and free conversation with a minis- 
ter of the gospel, in which he spoke more fully than he had 
up to that time ventured to do on religious subjects. The 
truth of the gospel and his own deep need of it seemed ap- 
parent to him. He expressed a determination to continue to 
pray for mercy and salvation, as he had done. He dwelt 
with fondness on the remembrance of his father, his friends, 
his home, but uttered no complaint that it was his lot to die 
among strangers. He was tenderly cared for to the sad end, 
and received the last offices of Christian benevolence at the 
hands of those with whom resentment had melted into ad- 
miring pity. Alexander Lyle sleeps side by side with his 
Northern adversaries, and, when flesh and heart were failing, 
received this unsolicited and unlooked-for tribute from the 
stranger, "A brave and noble young man." 

Rev. H. C. Alexander, D.D. 



348 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL, 



EDGAR MACON, 

OF ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; SECOND LIEUTENANT, THOMAS 
ARTILLERY. 

Edgar Macon, son of Conway and Agnes Macon, was born 
in Orange County, Virginia, in 1828. In August, 1845, he 
was appointed a cadet at the Virginia MiHtary Institute, and 
spent some time at that school. Afterwards he became a 
merchant in his native county, continuing as such until the 
outbreak of the war. From the first an earnest and warm 
secessionist, as soon as the Virginia Convention passed the 
ordinance, though on a sick-bed from a long and serious ill- 
ness, he immediately arose and went to work to assist in raising 
and organizing the Thomas Artillery, of which he was elected 
a lieutenant. This company was first sent to Winchester, 
thence went with Johnston's army on his forced march to 
Manassas, going on foot ninety miles in twenty-four hours, 
under a scorching sun and with scarcely any food. Reaching 
Manassas on the morning of the 21st of July, 1861, the battery 
went at once into battle, then at its fiercest, and nobly did its 
part till the field was won. Lieutenant Macon, after having 
borne the heat and burden of the day, fell a victim to a random 
shot, fired after the battle was over and the enemy were re- 
tiring. He had just mounted his horse, preparatory to with- 
drawing from the field, when he was struck by a shell and 
instantly killed. 

Nothing can better express the love and esteem with which 
he was regarded by all who knew him than the following ex- 
tract from the letter of a friend written at that time : 

" Of the many who laid their lives as a sacrifice upon the 
altar of their country on that memorable day, none could 
have done so more lamented than our noble young friend. 
After bravely fighting for more than eight hours by the guns 
under his charge, he fell, and as the shout of victory rose 



MILES C. MACON. 



349 



upon his ear, his spirit rose to Him who gave it. Who would 
not die a patriot's death ? While we deeply lament his loss, 
we feel that he died gloriously in a glorious cause." 

Lieutenant Macon was the only son of a widowed mother, 
and left a wife and an infant son, born three days before his 
death, and never seen by him. 

He was a great-nephew of President Madison, and his re- 
mains repose in the cemetery at Montpelier, where rest his 
ancestors of many generations. 

Possessed of a warm, loving, and genial disposition, he 
won the hearts of all, and in the domestic relations of life, 
as son, brother, and husband, he pre-eminently shone, — being 
excelled by none. 



MILES C. MACON, 

OF HANOVER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, RICHMOND FAYETTE 
ARTILLERY, 

Miles Gary Macon, son of Miles and Frances Macon, was 
born in the county of Hanover, in the year 1836. After at- 
tending the primary schools of his neighborhood, he entered 
the Virginia Military Institute in 1852, where he remained for 
some time, and then entered into business in the city of Rich- 
mond. At the beginning of the war he was a lieutenant in 
the " Richmond Fayette Artillery," and "went with that com- 
pany to Yorktown and its environs ; while there was made 
captain of the " Fayette Artillery," and continued to com- 
mand it during the war, whenever his health, which had been 
shattered by typhoid fever contracted from exposure during 
the Peninsula campaign, would permit. 

With the name and fame of the "Fayette Artillery" Cap- 
tain Macon was identified, for he was its commander from the 
the beginning to the end ; passing through many battles un- 
touched, he was reserved for one of the last victims, being 



350 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



killed at Appomattox Court-House, on Saturday evening, just 
before night, April 8, 1865, the day before the surrender of 
the Army of Northern Virginia. 

To say that he was honorable, high-minded, generous, 
brave, and dashing, and that he served his country well, is a 
meed of praise that will be accorded to him by all his com- 
rades. True to his mother State in her prosperity, his fidelity 
wavered not when the dark days came, but, growing brighter 
as the storm-cloud lowered, it culminated in the giving up his 
life just as that cloud broke over her devoted head. 



JOHN B. MAGRUDER, M.A., 

OF ALBEMARLE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 57TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

John Bankhead Magruder, son of B. H. Magruder, of 
Albemarle, graduated Master of Arts in the University of 
Virginia, at the close of the session of 1859-60, in his twenty- 
first year, and in the spring of 1861 entered the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, for the purpose of perfecting himself in military 
science, as a preparation for the exigencies of the war then 
imminent. After entering service, he rose to the colonelcy of 
the 57th Virginia Infantry, and was killed leading it into 
battle at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863. 



FRANCIS MALLORY. 35 1 

/ 
FRANCIS MALLORY, 

OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 55TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

On the afternoon of March 30, 1866, a large procession of 
citizens, on foot and in carriages, M^as seen wending its way 
along the streets of Norfolk, following the remains of Colonel 
Francis Mallory to Elmwood Cemetery, where they were 
finally deposited, in the hope of the resurrection. At the 
close of the war such mournful and touching spectacles were 
not infrequent in the cities and villages of the South, — the 
transportation to their ancestral vaults and family burying- 
grounds of our brave and lamented dead who fell in battle, or 
languished and died in hospitals and prisons. It was a 
sacred duty and privilege, and it is a sad thought that so 
many of our fallen still sleep in unmarked graves, in neg- 
lected places, at home and at the North. Yet such is una- 
voidable from the force of circumstances; since the South is 
not lacking in that reverence for the dead which in some 
degree measures a nation's advancement in civilization, and 
affords evidence of its culture and refinement, but when the 
war terminated she was utterly impoverished, her State and 
municipal governments overthrown, her fields untilled, her 
labor disorganized, her ancient halls and ancestral mansions 
given to the flames, or mouldering in decay. The duties to 
the living were stern, urgent, and supreme ; she had neither 
the means nor opportunity to recover the bodies of her gallant 
sons, nor could she command that concert of action essential 
to the success of any enterprise, public or private ; yet her 
matrons and daughters forget not to decorate with flowers the 
graves of those who sleep within her borders. Long may 
the beautiful custom be continued, since a people who could 
forget their dead in a few brief months or years would prove 
themselves unworthy of the cause for which they fought and 
fell! Humanity is the same the world over, and wherever a 



352 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



grave is found — whether in the depths of an untrodden forest, 
or in excavations ami'd the marts of trade, or the avenues of 
fashion — it awakens thought and excites inquiry; but the 
graves of patriots have ever been an incentive to heroism and 
an inspiration to the poet. The power of death is attested in 
all ages, and the resources of art and genius have been ex- 
hausted in beautifying its abodes. Many of the most costly, 
splendid, and enduring works in masonry and architecture are 
sepulchral in nature and design, and to this day the cata- 
combs of Rome and the tombs of Egypt possess to the 
antiquary and traveler attractions not inferior to the dim 
cathedrals, the renowned frescoes, or the long galleries of 
painting and sculpture that excite our wonder and admira- 
tion. 

As a people, we may not be able to erect monuments of 
marble, or construct elaborate cemeteries, yet we can and 
should preserve the names and memories of our soldiery, and 
rescue their deeds of valor from oblivion. Such is the pious 
task which the Virginia Military Institute assumes towards 
her fallen sons in this volume of memorial sketches. It is a 
cenotaph, and over its inscriptions future generations will lin- 
ger with melancholy interest and pride. Among those names 
should be found Francis Mallory, the second son of Dr. 
Francis Mallory and Mary F. Wright, his wife, who was born 
in Norfolk, Virginia, May 28, 1833. His father after a few 
years abandoned the practice of medicine, and moved to his 
farm near Hampton, to devote himself to agriculture. He 
afterwards represented his district in Congress, and, again 
returning to Norfolk, represented that city in the Legislature 
for several sessions. An ardent friend to internal improve- 
ments, a man of large views and public spirit, he was made 
the president of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, but, 
from failing health, resigned this position, and died in Nor- 
folk in i860. 

The family is descended from Roger Mallory, one of three 
brothers who left England during the civil war. He settled 
in King and Queen County, and his descendants, locating 



FRANCIS MALLORY. 353 

in Elizabeth City County, intermarried with the famiHes of 
Wythe, Shield, Booker, and others, among the most ancient 
and respected families on the lower Peninsula. The family 
settled in and around Hampton at a very early period in the 
colonies, since one of the name was sent to England and 
ordained an Episcopal clergyman, and became the first rector 
of the present old St. John's Church, in a.d. 1660. Colonel 
Mallory's grandfather, Charles K. Mallory, was Lieutenant- 
Governor of Virginia in 18 12, and was acting Governor 
during the greater portion of the war, and signed most of 
the commissions issued to the officers of the State forces. 
His great-grandfather, whose name he bore, and whose 
bravery he inherited, commanded the local troops of Eliza- 
beth City County in the Revolutionary struggle, and was 
killed by a detachment of English regulars near " Big 
Bethel." Commanding a reconnoitring party, and attended 
by his aid, Captain King, he came upon this body of British 
soldiery in an open field. His men w^ere ordered to advance, 
but broke and fled at the first fire. He and his aid, disdain- 
ing to fly, were shot down. Being a robust, fearless man, and 
refusing to surrender, he received nineteen bayonet thrusts, as 
his Continental uniform, in the possession of the family for 
many years, attested. He was buried at Wythe's, about two 
miles from Bethel. 

Colonel Mallory's youth was passed on his father's farm, 
near Hampton, and within sound of the bell of old St. John's, 
a venerable pile that has witnessed the vicissitudes of three 
wars, survived the wanton desecration of British and Federal 
soldiery, defied both time and fire, and is to-day trodden in 
worship by the feet of those whose ancestors sleep beneath 
its aisles and around its walls. In a locality whose historical 
associations arc scarcely less interesting than those of James- 
town or Williamsburg, amid a society remarkable for its refine- 
ment and intelligence, a paternal hospitality proverbial for its 
elegance and generosity, and under the teachings and example 
of a praying mother, he developed a character, and acquired 
habits and manners that gave promise of a brilliant future. 

23 



354 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Until his fifteenth year he was a pupil in Hampton Acad- 
emy, under the instruction and training of John B. Gary, a 
thorough scholar and cultivated gentleman. From boyhood 
he manifested a bias towards a military life, which was proba- 
bly strengthened by his visits to Fortress Monroe, an impor- 
tant garrison near his home, with whose officers he was 
brought into frequent association. He accordingly matricu- 
lated at the Virginia Military Institute, July 26, 1850, and 
graduated July 4, 1853. He held the position of assistant 
engineer under General William Mahone, then engineer of 
the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, until June 27, 1856, 
when he was commissioned, by President Franklin Pierce, a 
second lieutenant, 4th United States Infantry, and ordered to 
report to the regiment, then stationed at Fort Vancouver and 
engaged in suppressing the outrages of the Indians upon the 
frontier. For five years he was in active service at Forts 
Vancouver, Gascades, and Walla-Walla, in Oregon and Wash- 
ington Territories, and gained his first experience in warfare 
on the slopes of the Pacific. During this period, by his 
intelligence, bravery, and fidelity as a soldier, and his gen- 
erosity, urbanity, and sensitive honor as a high-toned gentle- 
man, he won the confidence and affection of his brother 
officers, who bore the most cordial and unequivocal testi- 
mony to the thoroughness and efficiency of his military train- 
ing. Ambitious of glory, daring, and resolute, he shrank 
from neither danger or difficulties, but courted adventure. 
On one occasion, in a reconnoissance, he personally and 
alone captured an Indian chief, and, disarming him, brought 
him a prisoner to the post. After two years' service, he ob- 
tained a leave of absence for two months to visit home, and 
upon his return, by an unavoidable delay, he missed the Gali- 
fornia steamship at New York by a few hours. On reaching 
his post, he learned that, in consequence of a renewal of 
Indian hostilities, his company had left a few days previously 
for Salt Lake. Engaging a guide, he traveled on horseback 
for three days and nights without sleep, and was thoroughly 
exhausted when he overtook them. Golonel Morris expos- 



FRANCIS MALLORY. 355 

tulated with him for placing his life in the hands of a guide, 
who might prove treacherous, and also for risking the hazard 
of a surprise from hostile and merciless Indians. Colonel 
Mallory replied, " The path of duty, though one of peril, is 
the path of right, and in it I am happy." 

From Fort Cascades, April 2, 1861, when the storm was 
gathering, and, despite the earnest efforts of Virginia to avoid 
the calamity, the thunders of war were heard muttering in the 
distance, he wrote to his mother, " Old Virginia has acted 
nobly, and I sincerely trust to some purpose, but should she 
not be able to effect a compromise and conclude to go out of 
the Union, I am with her heart and hand. Although my arm 
is but that of one man, I feel a giant heart within me, and 
would strike no mean blow in the defense of our homes and 
the honor of our glorious old State. I consider it as much my 
duty to side with my State against all enemies as I would to 
defend and protect you, my dear mother, from the whole 
world, right or wrong. Should I fall in the defense of my 
mother or my State, the only regret would be that I had not 
a hundred lives to offer instead of one." 

Such a sentiment is the key of the whole man ; since he 
who could feel and pen it, and then die in its support, pos- 
sessed all the elements of true manhood and greatness ! Ah ! 
well was it for him and us that we could not lift the veil of 
the future, or comprehend the magnitude and severity of the 
struggle, or estimate the calamities in store for the State ! 
Trampled for four years by contending armies, shorn of her 
domains, robbed of the flower of her youth, and impoverished, 
in all save her honor and her glorious memories, she presented, 
a picture of desolation in contrast with her former prosperity. 
Her skies were reddened by the glare of burning homes and 
granaries. Her plains and mountain slopes were furrowed 
with the graves, and her valleys enriched with the blood of 
her sons. Within her borders were displayed generalship 
and valor not surpassed by Greece in her palmiest days. 
Thoroughfare Gap and the plains of Manassas, linked in 
association with the proudest and tendcrest memories, in. 



356 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\ 

coming generations will stir the soul and kindle the pride 

of the South, as did Thermopylae and Marathon the ancient 

Greek. 

Upon the secession of Virginia he resigned his commission 
in the United States army, and in company with five officers, 
among them the lamented Albert Sidney Johnson, he effected 
an adventurous journey over the plains, in the face of suffer- 
ing, hardship, and peril, and arrived safely in Virginia, August 
8, 1 86 1. He immediately offered his services to Governor 
Letcher, and was conmiissioned a colonel of infantry, and as- 
signed to the S^th Regiment Virginia Infantry, composed of 
companies from the counties of Essex, Westmoreland, Mid- 
dlesex, and Spottsylvania. The regiment was attached to the 
Army of Northern Virginia, and its colors floated over every 
field from Mechanicsville to Appomattox Court-House. In 
the seven days' battles around Richmond, in the summer of 
1862, Colonel Malloky manoeuvred his regiment, for the first 
time under fire, not only with judgment and skill, but person- 
ally displayed conspicuous courage and coolness. His regi- 
ment, Field's Brigade, A. P. Hill's Division, Jackson's Corps, 
had the honor of beginning the battle, and was the second to 
cross the Meadow Bridges and engage the Federals, driving 
their pickets within one mile of Mechanicsville, where they 
made the first stand in force. 

The line was formed across the road, the 55th Regiment on 
the right, supported by the 60th, Colonel Starke, and the 40th, 
Colonel Brokenborough ; on the left, supported by the 47th, 
Colonel Mayo, and the 2d Battalion of Virginia Artillery, serv- 
ing as infantry, the Purcell Battery, Captain Pegram, between 
the 40th and 55th Regiments. As soon as the regiment came 
into view at Mechanicsville, the Federals opened upon it with 
three batteries of six guns each. From the exposed position 
the loss was heavy, amounting to eighteen commissioned offi- 
cers and one hundred and seventeen men. The lieutenant- 
colonel and adjutant were severely wounded and the major 
killed. On this occasion, and on others, Colonel Mallory 
made several narrow escapes. In a letter to his mother, he 



FRANCIS MALLORY. 



357 



says, " I was untouched, although the shot fell like hail around 
me. Men were killed at my side. One man's head was shot 
off in front of me, his brains bespattering my face. A small 
fragment of shell struck my beard ; another passed through 
the pommel of my saddle, but did not injure myself or horse." 
He survived the perils and shared the glories of Cedar Run, 
second Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, and Freder- 
icksburg, but, alas ! in the strength of manhood, in the zenith 
of his military career, so full of promise, he fell at Chancellors- 
ville. May 2, 1863, under the following circumstances. It was 
night, and he was leading his regiment to the" front to relieve a 
command that had been activelv engaged all the afternoon. 
While attempting to take position in advance, he unexpectedly 
came upon the enemy, who, concealed by the darkness, had 
thrown up breastworks. Being at the head of his regiment, 
and attracted by uncertain sounds and objects in front, he gave 
the challenge, and received in reply, ''friends ;'' and instantly, 
and in the same voice, followed the order '' fire!' The next 
moment he fell from his horse dead; the enemy having 
opened with musketry and shell, and a fragment of shell 
having entered the left breast and badly lacerated the heart. 
The body was in the hands of the enemy until morning, when 
it was recovered by his kinsman. Surgeon James H. Southall, 
and others, who, in the emergency, buried or rather hid it in 
a thicket, and marked the grave by stones. In consequence 
of the obstructions of the roads incident to a great and im- 
portant battle, his brother could not reach the scene of disas- 
ter until several days had elapsed. It was night when he 
arrived, and in the agony of his grief, and under the impulse 
of affection, he sought and identified the spot, and with his 
own hands drew from its hiding-place the mangled body of 
his idolized brother. Alone, in the darkness and silence of 
the night, with no companions but the stars, he kept watch 
over it until daylight, when, procuring assistance, and a coffin, 
he conveyed it to Hollywood, near Richmond. After the war 
it was removed to Elmwood, in Norfolk, and buried by the 
side of his father, and a lamented kinsman, Howard Shields 



358 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Wright, a pure, gentle, and gallant spirit, who, bearing the 
tattered colors of the famous 6th Virginia Regiment, Mahone's 
Brigade, received at Petersburg a mortal wound, and died the 
triumphant death of a Christian soldier. 

Had Colonel Mallory survived the battle of Chancellors- 
ville, he would without doubt have been promoted to the rank 
of a brigadier-general; in fact, it was reported and believed in 
the division that his commission had already been signed, 
although not delivered. His merit was universally conceded, 
and his claims were strongly urged by Generals A. P. Hill, 
Fields, Pickett, and Mahone, and also indorsed by General 
Robert E. Lee, who, in general orders, bore official testimony 
to the gallantry and efficiency of the regiment. His untimely 
death was a source of profound regret throughout the com- 
mand, for although a strict and impartial disciplinarian, he was 
a general favorite, as was evidenced at the time of the reor- 
ganization of the army, when the choice of officers by election 
was confided to the men, he was re-elected colonel without 
one dissenting vote. His loss to the command was deplora- 
ble, and that command was a large one, and composed of 
companies which represented the very flower of their several 
counties, and which could appreciate true worth and admire 
exalted bravery. His regiment after his death seemed dis- 
pirited. Both men and officers had the most unwavering con- 
fidence in him, and willingly did what he bade and followed 
where he led. Their confidence and affection were won and 
retained not only by his skill and gallantry in action, but by 
the great interest and tender care manifested in any and all of 
them when sick or wounded. He often visited them, cheered 
them with words of sympathy and encouragement, inquired 
into their wants, and strove to gratify them when it was at all 
reasonable and in his power. 

A reverent, dutiful, and affectionate son, a devoted and un- 
selfish brother, a warm and generous friend, a cultivated and 
thorough gentleman, a genial and entertaining companion, he 
was the pride of his family. In stature tall, in form muscular 
and symmetrical, in person handsome, with full dark beard 



JOHN Q. MARR. 359 

and moustache, regular features, and splendid eyes ; manly in 
bearing, courtly in address, and chivalrous in his feelings ; a 
fearless yet judicious leader, he blended in his character and 
person those traits which traditionally associate with the cava- 
lier and soldier; and in sealing with his blood his devotion 
and fidelity to his State and country, swells the long and 
mournful catalogue of heroes whose names and memories 
should be held in everlasting remembrance. 

Dr. Samuel Selden. 



JOHN Q. MARR, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, WARRENTON RIFLES. 

John Q. Mark was born in Warrenton, Fauquier County, 
on the 27th of May, 1825. On his father's side he was prin- 
cipally of French, and on his mother's chiefly of English, 
descent. His father, John Marr, Esq., who died in 1848, was 
the grandson of a Frenchman, who, after the revocation of 
the edict of Nantes, is said to have sought with two brothers 
a refuge from tyranny in the wilds of America. The two 
brothers of this ancestor, soon after their arrival in this coun- 
try, removed to Carolina. It has been said that at this time of 
their history the family name was La Mar, the article having 
been afterwards dropped. The brother who remained settled 
in what afterwards became the county of Fauquier. He had 
two sons, Daniel and Thomas. Thomas was killed at Brad- 
dock's defeat, being in the colonial troops under the command 
of Washington. Daniel was the father of numerous children, 
only one of whom now (1872) survives (Daniel Marr, Esq., 
of Campbell County, Virginia). Daniel Marr, the elder, died 
in 1826. His eldest son, John Marr, the father of John Q. 
Marr, was for many years a resident of Warrenton, the 
county seat of Fauquier. The following notice of him ap- 



360 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

pears in the newspaper published in his town not long after 
his decease : 

" The deceased resided in this place for the last forty years, 
and was born in the county of which his forefathers were 
among the early settlers in the seventeenth century, giving 
their names to some of its localities. They were men who 
freely shared in the burdens which fell to the lot of citizens 
in the early history of the colony and Commonwealth, un- 
ambitious of other praise or rewards than that they were true 
soldiers in war, and quiet, good citizens in peace. The sub- 
ject of this notice, in the outset of life, commenced the mercan- 
tile business, in which, in a very short time, he found himself 
bereaved of everything save an unspotted reputation and an 
increasing family. The latter he supported for a long series 
of years as Commissioner in Chancery in the Supreme and 
County Courts, and other very laborious offices of trust, 
which the confidence of his neighbors and fellow-citizens was 
fond to bestow on him. To the intelligent, but irksome, per- 
formance of those trusts, which yielded a frugal support to 
his family and education to his children, he added the gratui- 
tous services of a justice of the peace. The maiden name of 
the mother of John Q. Mark was Catherine Inman Horner, 
who still survives (1872), and who belonged to a family which 
has always stood well in that section of the country where 
their lot has been cast. 

John Q. Mark entered the Virginia Military Institute as a 
cadet in July, 1843, and graduated in 1846 with the second 
distinguished honor of his class. He was afterwards appointed 
assistant professor of mathematics and tactics at the Institute, 
and filled this post with great credit until called home by the 
death of his father. Although the teachers at that valuable 
institution, who saw and duly appreciated his fine mind and 
aptitude for the learning there taught, assured him of their 
sense of his progress in science, and flattered him with the 
hope of future eminence if he would remain, still, his sense of 
duty to his mother and orphan sisters impelled him to return 
to them. 



JOHN Q. MARK. 361 

The courts, learning the sacrifice the young man had made 
to fih'al duty, and also, from reliable report, his capacity, gave 
to him the appointment vacated by his father's death. With 
what intelligence and probity, and with what general satisfac- 
tion, he labored at and performed these irksome duties is 
known everywhere in his community. To these he also added, 
as his father had done, the gratuitous services of a justice of 
the peace. When the latter office was submitted to the popu- 
lar suffrage, his neighbors elected him without a dissenting 
voice, and shortly afterwards the magistrates of the county 
appointed him the Presiding Justice of the Court. This, when 
we regard his youth at that time, and the knowledge which 
the electors had of the qualifications of their several brethren, 
must be acknowledged as a sure tribute and sign of their re- 
spect for his intelligence and dignity of deportment. The 
next testimonial of confidence came from the people, who 
elected him the sheriff of the large and opulent county of 
Fauquier. After performing its arduous and responsible, and 
often delicate and painful, duties for a full term of two years, 
he was again elected without any opposition. For this second 
term, however, upon a full and calm survey of its troubles and 
responsibilities, he declined to accept, and voluntarily surren- 
dered an office that was coveted by many for its pecuniary 
gains and patronage, but which he, upon a full survey and 
experience of its troubles, anxieties, distressing scenes, and 
responsibilities, determined to forego. 

It was at the election for delegates to the convention which 
passed the ordinance of secession that the most decided proof 
was exhibited of the people's confidence in his safe judgment 
and ability to serve them, when we regard the dangerous 
crisis, the magnitude of the trust committed to his hands, and 
the overwhelming vote which manifested the general confi- 
dence. Such was the people's trust in his judgment and the 
purity of his purposes, and the probity which would govern 
and control it, that they confided the mighty trust to him by 
a vote much larger than they gave even to his talented and 
trusted colleague (Robert E. Scott). 



362 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Nor can the result of any of these elections, so flattering to 
a just pride, be imputed to any other cause or agency than to 
the just confidence which all classes of men and politicians 
had in both his mind and heart. He had no wealth to bestow 
for favor, even could he have stooped so low as to buy it, 
which in his nature he would not and could not do ; nor had 
he any graces of countenance, eloquence, or manner to win it 
by these arts. His countenance and manner were stern and 
repulsive to the approaches of familiarity, almost, we had said, 
to genial sociality, while his eloquence had neither charm of 
voice nor decoration from fancy or imagination. He spoke 
well, because he spoke sound sense. He spoke from his 
reason and judgment to the reason and judgment of his 
listeners, whilst there was that in his countenance which ex- 
pressed an honest conviction of sincerity of purpose which 
won the trust of his hearers. 

After the raid of John Brown, he organized, in his native 
village, a military company known as the " Warrenton Rifles," 
and with indefatigable industry drilled and instructed it in the 
art of war. 

To his military company, composed chiefly of his neighbors 
and neighbors' sons, whom the parents would have trusted to 
the guidance of no other leader, he was most justly dear. 
Gallant, yet prudent, there was no peril which they could en- 
counter which he would not fully share with them, and but for 
the accident which at first separated them and the shot that 
deprived them of his leadership, the victory would have been 
complete. 

John Q. Mark was commissioned as lieutenant-colonel in 
the active volunteer forces of Virginia, his commission bearing 
date the 5th of May, 1861. Although he knew of the exist- 
ence of this commission, he never saw it, it having been sent 
by mistake to Harper's Ferry. During the war, it was res- 
cued from the letters remaining in the dead-letter oflice at 
Richmond, and is now in the possession of his family. 

When the ordinance of secession passed the convention 
he was absent from his seat, being summoned home by a 



JOHN Q. MARK. 363 

severe family affliction ; but he afterwards affixed his name 
to it. 

The indications of hostile collision with the Federal authori- 
ties that immediately followed that ordinance caused him to 
address himself at once to his military duties, and his com- 
pany was soon marched towards the Potomac River, where 
the danger seemed most threatening, and his occupations in 
the field prevented him from again resuming his seat in that 
body. 

On the morning of Saturday, June i, 1861, the sentinels 
of the Virginia troops, then in barracks at Fairfax Court- 
House, were driven in by a company of United States cavalry, 
who swiftly followed them into the village. The enemy came 
by a side road, entering on the north. The Virginia forces 
consisted of a cavalry company from Prince William, a com- 
pany of cavalry from Rappahannock, and the Warrenton 
Rifles, commanded by Captain John Q. Mark. The cavalry, 
composed entirely of raw levies and imperfectly armed, mis- 
informed as to the force of the enemy, gave way at the onset, 
and left the Rifles unsupported to deal with the foe. It unfor- 
tunately happened that, as his men were being conducted into 
the inclosure, about one-half of them were cut off by the re- 
treating horsemen, and, thus separated from their companions, 
the remaining half got into action, so that there were only 
about forty men engaged in the skirmish. 

The assailants, numbering about eighty-six men, under Lieu- 
tenant Tompkins, separated. Part of them charged along the 
road which leads through the village, while the other part, 
supposed to be under the guidance of the officer in command, 
passed in pursuit of the fugitives through the inclosure in 
which the Rifles were stationed. As these passed, Captain 
Marr was heard to challenge them, asking, " What cavalry is 
that?" and these were the last words that issued from his lips. 
Scattering shots were interchanged, and the pursuers passed 
on. Without their captain, and ignorant of his fate, without 
their first or second lieutenant, — both of whom, at the begin- 
ning of the fight, were unfortunately absent, — these forty rifle- 



364 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

men, who had never before heard the report of an enemy's 
gun, — composed, in part, of youths of seventeen and eighteen 
years of age, — stood unfaltering in their position, while well- 
trained troopers charged in front and rear. At this moment 
ex-Governor William Smith, who chanced to be in the village, 
appeared among them, with Colonel (afterwards General) 
Ewell, who took the direction of their movements. The 
enemy, soon desisting from their pursuit, collected together a 
short distance upon the turnpike road and charged back upon 
the village. The Rifles, advancing to the roadside, by a well- 
directed fire drove them back. Again they returned to the 
attack, when a deadly volley, emptying many saddles, threw 
them into confusion. They broke through the fencing and fled 
from the conflict. The loss of the enemy in killed, wounded, 
and missing was probably not under thirty. The casualties 
on our side were one killed, one wounded, and four missing. 
In the beginning of the fight Colonel Ewcll received a wound 
in the shoulder. Until a late hour in the morning the fate of 
Captain Mark was unknown, and it was hoped that he would 
reappear with the missing part of his company; but upon 
search being made in the clover lot, where the challenge was 
given, his body was found with a shot through the heart. 

When the sad intelligence of his death reached his native 
place the Confederate flag was lowered to half-mast, and a 
gloom overspread the countenances of all. His remains, which 
reached Warrenton on Saturday evening between six and 
seven o'clock, were met and escorted into the town by the 
Lee Guard, and a large concourse of citizens. On Sunday 
afternoon, at five o'clock, after a feeling tribute had been paid 
to his memory by Rev. O. S. Barten, in the clerk's office yard, 
in the presence of at least fifteen hundred persons, he was 
buried, in full-dress uniform, with the honors of war. 

The following is an extract from the speech of Mr. Robert 
E. Scott, his colleague in the convention in session at that 
time: 

" I was present but a short time since when a banner, the 
gift of the ladies of the village, was presented to the Warren- 



JOHN Q. MARK. 365 

ton Rifles. The ceremony of presentation took place on a 
green plat, just in rear of our clerks' offices, and I heard the 
pledge of the gallant captain to guard its honor with his own 
life's blood. But I little thought when participating in the 
pleasing excitement of the animated scene I should so soon 
realizx the redemption of the patriotic pledge. 

" On the evening of the 2d of June I stood among a large 
concourse of persons assembled on that same green plat, 
under the same trees that once more had renewed their um- 
brageous foliage, a listener to the funeral service over the 
coffin that contained all of earth that remained of our lamented 
associate and friend, and, following to the grave, I saw the 
bright banner that he loved so well, in token of his worth 
buried with the dead." 

The following resolutions were adopted by the convention : 

" Resolved, That this Convention lament most deeply the 
death of Captain John Q. Mark, late member of this body 
from the county of Fauquier, and as a testimonial of his worth, 
and in respect for his memory, the members thereof will wear 
the usual badges of mourning for thirty days. 

" Resolved, That the condolence of this Convention be 
expressed to his bereaved mother on this occasion of her 
distressing affliction." 

After the reopening of the courts, at a meeting of the mem- 
bers of the Fauquier bar, called for the purpose of passing 
resolutions in honor of those of their number who had passed 
away during the war, Mr. James V. Brooke, at present a 
member of the Legislature from the county of Fauquier, rose 
and said, — 

" Captain John Q. Mark, although not a member of the 
bar nor an officer of the court, sustained relations to both 
which entitle him to honorable mention in the proceedings of 
this meeting. 

" In the person of our departed friend death found ' a 
shining mark.' Though still in the dawn of manhood, the 
reputation which he enjoyed was worth the struggle of a 
protracted life ; and few, if any, could claim a stronger hold 



366 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

upon the confidence of the community in which he lived. 
The causes which operated to give him prominence among 
his fellows were not to be found in the possession of those 
brilliant qualities of mind and manners that often wield a 
fascinating influence, irresistible yet transient. The secret of 
his power lay rather in the marked development of those more 
solid and substantial elements of character that constituted 
his individuality and made him the object of popular esteem. 
With a sound judgment, a resolute will, a fixedness of purpose 
which nothing could shake, and habits of industry that asked 
no relaxation, he combined those gentler qualities of heart 
that served to soften a temper somewhat impulsive, and a 
demeanor that might otherwise have savored of austerity or 
reserve. In this happy blending of mental and moral traits 
was the secret of his strength ; and in his stern devotion to 
duty, without regard to the dictates of selfish expediency, he 
found the surest pathway to enviable renown." 

In the report of the adjutant-general for the year ending 
September 30, 1862, we find the following in the memorial 
list of the elevcs of the Virginia Military Institute in the war 
for independence of the Confederate States of America : 

"J. Q. Mark. Graduated July 4, 1846. Member of Vir- 
ginia Convention. Entered military service as captain of 
Virginia volunteers, April, 1861. Killed at Fairfax Court- 
House, May 31, 1861. First blood of the ivar!' 

Appended is his address to the voters of Fauquier when a 
candidate for the convention : 

"TO THE VOTERS OF FAUQUIER. 

" In response to calls made upon me through the press, as well as by 
many of my fellow-citizens in different portions of the county, to allow 
my name to be used for the convention which has recently been called 
by the General Assembly of this State, and believing, so far as I can as- 
certain, that it is the wish of a large number of the voters of all parties 
that I should become a candidate, I think it proper, without farther 
delay (as but a short period of time intervenes before the election), to 
state that, should it be your pleasure to elect me, I will endeavor to dis- 



JOHN Q. MARK. 367 

charge the important trust to the best of my abihty, and in such a man- 
ner as to meet with your approval. 

" Deeply sensible of the important subject which has given rise to the 
call of this convention, I am aware that an expression of the particular 
views of the different candidates is expected by many whose suffrages 
are solicited. 

"On ordinary occasions, when conventions are called to consider the 
propriety of changing some organic law of the State, it is not difficult for 
men to define their exact positions on the question submitted to their 
consideration ; but now, when, I may say, we arc almost in the midst of 
a revolution, the views we hold to-day, shaped and formed by existing 
circumstances that surround us, may, by a change in the condition of 
affairs, be improper for to-morrow. It would, therefore, be impossible, 
it would be improper, for me to tie my hands to any particular view or 
any particular policy to be pursued on the great questions which agitate 
the country, by a convention which does not assemble for nearly a 
month from this time. This is strikingly exemplified by the fact that we 
have many around us who, a week ago in favor of pursuing a certain 
line of policy, now are for the very contrary, and probably ere another 
week, not to say a month, may find themselves, by the force of events, 
occupying a third position. 

"The General Assembly of Virginia, now in session, has promptly 
passed several measures relating to the present crisis which I cordially 
approve. The resolutions pledging the State to resist by all means in her 
power the coercion, under existing circumstances, of any slave State, and 
the position of the Governor, that the passage of any troops across our soil 
for that purpose would be considered an invasion, to be repelled with 
all the strength of the Commonwealth, clearly and unequivocally warns 
Northern fanaticism that Virginia cannot and will not stand with folded 
arms and permit those Southern States to be ruthlessly assailed, to whom 
we are bound by identity of institutions, by reciprocal interest, and by 
the eternal laws of nature and of God. Nor can we allow the present 
opportunity to pass without having definitely and* forever settled those 
cjuestions growing out of the institution of slavery which have for years 
been a source of agitation, and which have at last partially destroyed 
that Union which has accomplished so much good to mankind, and over 
the destruction of which I can see nothing to rejoice. The issue has been 
forced upon us, and we must meet it, with decision, with energy, with 
firmness, with unanimity, with a united front, and with unfaltering devo- 
tion to the honor and safety of the Commonwealth. Let Virginia speak 
and act, not with ' boisterous bravado,' but with enlightened patriotism, 
and that calm courage which has ever marked her history in the past. 
I cannot agree to allay the storm by submission, but there is no sacrifice 
consistent with the honor and interest of the State which I would jiot make 



368 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

to preserve and transmit , uninipaircd, to coming generations, a confederacy 
which was perfected by the wise and good and patj'iotic men of the past, 
and which, if severed by civil co7tflict, can never be reconstructed. 

" The Legislature has also, I believe, passed an act for the appointment 
of Commissioners to meet those proposed to be appointed from the 
border slave States, in the city of Washington, on the 4th of Febru- 
ary, and whose joint action and recommendations will doubtless be 
reported to our State Convention, and may form the groundwork for a 
solution and settlement of the difficulties that surround us ; and, although 
now scarcely a ray of hope lights our pathway, yet, as the darkest hour 
precedes the break of day, that Providence which in time past guided 
us, when weak, through dangers and difficulties, may dispel the ap- 
proaching storm, and will continue to shield us with His protecting arm. 

"In view of changing circumstances, of the magnitude of the interests 
involved, and of the great difficulties which surround the questions to be 
considered by the convention, I can only say to you, that, if elected, I 
will endeavor, with good judgment and discretion and firmness, to deal 
with the state of affairs existing at the time of the sitting of the conven- 
tion, as the exigency of the occasion may demand, striving, if possible, 
to obtain all the just and equitable rights to which the South is entitled, 
without further breaking the bonds of the Union ; but in the event of a 
continued disposition to aggress, and an unyielding spirit on the part of 
Northern fanaticism, then so to act as best to maintain the honor and 
rights of the State whose interest and whose welfare it is our duty to 
cherish and defend as long as life itself shall last. 

" If, therefore, you think proper to confide such great trust to my judg- 
ment and discretion, I shall be grateful for your suffrages. If, on the 
contrary, there should be other gentlemen before you in connection with 
this trust, on whose judgment, discretion, and patriotism you would feel 
safer to rely, vote for them, — your interest and your duty demand it. As 
for myself, whether in a representative capacity, or as a private citizen, 
my fortunes are indissolubly connected with Virginia, the land of my 
birth, and by whom I have been nurtured with more than a parent's care, 
and on whose bosom I shall repose when time with me shall be no more. 
' She shall know no peril but that it shall be my peril, no conflict but 
that it shall be my conflict, and there is no abyss of ruin to which she 
may sink, so low, but that I shall share her fall.' 

"John Q. Mark. 
"January 18, 1861." 



JAMES K. MARSHALL. 369 



JAMES K. MARSHALL, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 52D NORTH CAROLINA 

INFANTRY. 

James Keith Marshall, son of Edward C. and grandson 
of Chief-Justice John Marshall, was born in Fauquier County, 
Virginia, on the 17th of April, 1839. 

On the 2ist of August, 1856, young Marshall entered the 
Virginia Military Institute, where he graduated with credit 
July 4, i860. While a member of the graduating class, he 
was first lieutenant of one of the cadet companies, and was 
chosen as final orator by the Society of Cadets. His oration 
gave evidence of a vigorous mind, and promise of a good 
speaker. About two months after graduation, Mr. Marshall 
accepted an invitation from Dr. Warren to take charge of a 
private school at Edenton, North Carolina. While here he 
employed that portion of his time not occupied by school du- 
ties in the study of law. But the pursuit of these quiet duties 
was -broken up in the following spring by the call of his 
country to arms. Fired with patriotic zeal to battle for the 
Southern cause, he brought into the field, among the first, a 
well-drilled company, of which he was chosen captain, and 
was assigned to the regiment of Colonel D. H. Hill. Captain 
Marshall gained so much reputation by his skillful handling 
of his troops throughout the campaign of 1861, that, upon 
the reorganization of the army in the spring of 1862, he was 
elected colonel of the 5 2d Regiment North Carolina Infantry, 
succeeding Colonel Vance, who became Governor of the 
State. At the time of his promotion, Colonel Marshall was 
but twenty-two years of age, and only known in North Caro- 
lina through his reputation gained in the field during the 
campaign of the preceding year. 

Colonel Marshall's regiment remained with its brigade 
(Pettigrew's) in Tide Water, Virginia, during a greater part of 

24 



370 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



1862, and while here, in addition to much other arduous 
duty, was in several hard-fought engagements, of which the 
most memorable was the repulse of the land and naval forces 
of the enemy at Franklin, on Blackwater River. Being sta- 
tioned at Petersburg, Colonel Marshall received information 
that three Federal gunboats were coming up the Blackwater, 
intending to co-operate with a land force coming in another 
direction, and then move on Franklin. At this period of the 
war the use of gunboats had given the enemy the victory 
upon so many occasions that the alarm became general, lest 
their exclusive possession of this means of attack might drive 
the Confederate Government from the defense of all towns on 
the water-courses. 

Upon hearing of the approach of these gunboats. Colonel 
Marshall moved quickly to the Blackwater, and posted his 
riflemen at intervals along its bushy banks, with orders to 
shoot every man who made his appearance on deck. So 
effectively was this order executed that large numbers were 
slain, and the boats consequently forced to retire. Hurrying 
on to Franklin, Colonel Marshall easily drove off the land 
forces, who, being disheartened at the discomfiture of the 
gunboats, retreated in dismay. After this affair, Colonel 
Marshall remained with his command under General Petti- 
grew, in the defense of lower Virginia, until the brigade was 
ordered to join the army of Northern Virginia, when on its 
march into Pennsylvania. 

The three days' fighting at and near Gettysburg distin- 
guished the campaign of 1863, and proved to be the culmi- 
nating period of the war. On the first day of these battles, 
July I, 1863, Pettigrew's Brigade, numbering three thousand 
men, was engaged in hot encounter with the enemy, who made 
a fierce attack with powerful force upon them, and were only 
driven back after desperate effort. In the midst of this engage- 
ment General Pettigrew was called to the command of the divi- 
sion, Major-General Heth having been badly wounded, and 
Colonel Marshall succeeded to the command of the brigade. 

The part taken by Colonel Marshall in the battle of the 



yAMES K. MARSHALL. 37 1 

third day, July 3, is thus described in an extract from a com- 
munication published in the Richmond Enqidrer oi the 18th 
of March, 1864. This communication was a letter written to 
Major N. J. Baker by Captain Louis G. Young, aid-de-camp 
to General Pettigrew, at the solicitation of a meeting of dele- 
gates representing the different regiments of the brigade. 
The meeting was held for the purpose of having corrected the 
erroneous impressions which prevailed in regard to the part 
taken in the battle of Gettysburg by Pettigrew's Brigade : 

" On the morning of the 3d of July, General Pettigrew, 
commanding Heth's Division, was instructed to report to 
General Longstreet, who directed him to form in rear of 
Pickett's Division, and support his advance on Cemetery 
Hill ; and I presume that it was in consequence of this 
having been the first plan settled on that the erroneous re- 
port was circulated that Heth's Division was assigned the 
duty of supporting that of Pickett. But the order referred 
to was countermanded almost as soon as given, and Gen- 
eral Pettigrew was ordered to advance upon the same line 
as Pickett. In the alignment of the division, Pettigrew's 
Brigade, under Colonel Marshall, was second from the 
right, and, with Archer's, advanced promptly and in good 
order, in continuation of Pickett's line. Subjected to a fire 
even more fatal than that which had driven back the brigade 
on our left, the men listening in vain for the cheering com- 
mand of officers who had, alas ! fallen, our brigade gave way 
likewise, and simultaneously with the whole line. 

"Colonel James K, Marshall, of the 5 2d Regiment, lost 
his life in the charge on Cemetery Hill. Prepared by a 
thorough military education for the sphere to which he was 
called, he possessed in no ordinary degree the qualities which 
make the distinguished soldier. To a remarkable aptitude 
for military matters was added the faculty to discipline and 
yet command the affections of officers and men. Modest in 
his demeanor, he nevertheless valued aright the power of 
earnest endeavor and unflinching determination, so that no 
danger or difficulty seemed to him too formidable, and often 



372 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



he mastered circumstances which seemed impossible. His 
repulse of the enemy's land and naval force on the Black- 
water is the first recorded victory of riflemen over gunboats. 
In the battle of Gettysburg he manifested skill and dashing 
bravery. Great is the country's loss when such are taken 
from her." 

Colonel Marshall had passed the stone fence, and while 
cheering his men received two balls in his forehead, which 
caused his immediate death. 



WALTER T. MATHEWS, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 3D RICHMOND HOWITZERS. 

Walter T. Mathews, son of Felix and Elizabeth Mathews, 
was born in the city of Richmond, on the 13th of December, 

1845. 

The days of his childhood were spent in that city, where 
he was educated and continued to reside up to the opening of 
the war. Though at that time quite young, he evidently took 
a deep interest in the great events transpiring around him, 
and throughout the length and breadth of the sunny South. 

He began his career as a cadet at the Virginia Military In- 
stitute on the 2 1 St of December, 1861, being then in his six- 
teenth year. Here he pursued his studies quietly for some 
time ; but the ideas which he had formed about his duty to 
his native State, prior to his leaving home, resolved them- 
selves into serious and patriotic convictions, and, after some 
deliberation, he determined to join that noble band of heroes 
who were battling for liberty and for their homes and fire- 
sides. 

On the 25th of November, 1862, he joined the 3d com- 
pany of Richmond Howitzers, then under command of Cap- 
tain Smith, and encamped in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, 



7?. G. MCCANCE. 



373 



Virginia. Having already had some military training, and 
being naturally quick to comprehend, he acquired proficiency 
rapidly in the duties of the soldier. 

At this time the armies of Lee and Burnside were gather- 
ing strength, and preparing for the grand final battle of the 
campaign of 1862. On the morning of the 13th of December, 
1862, the first note of that contest was sounded. All prepa- 
rations being complete, and the enemy having crossed their 
whole force to the south bank of the Rappahannock, how it 
was fought and won has passed into history. 

Walter Mathews was with his battery at the front, ready 
for the fray, — ready to deal death into the triple lines of the 
exultant foe. He fought well, did his duty nobly, and was 
killed at his post, with his face to the enemy. What nobler 
epitaph could he have ? 

Chivalrous youth, sacrificed upon the altar of his country, 
and in defense of his native State, reddening with his life- 
blood her everlasting hills, he sleeps 

" Where the winds are gently singing a requiem o'er the brave." 

What though years have elapsed since he passed away, he 
is not forgotten, nor the noble traits of character he pos- 
sessed. Brave, generous, courteous, and kind, he was one of 
nature's noblemen. 

A. S. J. 



R. G. McCANCE, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, OTEY BATTERY. 

Robert Gardner McCance, son of Thomas W. McCance, 
of Richmond, Virginia, was born on the 20th of September, 
1845, 3nd entered the Virginia Military Institute in January, 
1862. With the thoughtlessness of youth, there was want of 
immediate close application to the duties of his position ; but 
soon realizing that valuable time was passing without proper 



374 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



improvement, Cadet McCance resolved to give his energies to 
the performance of his duties, and soon gave promise that he 
would have taken high position but for the intervention of 
the war. 

Frequent appeals for permission to volunteer were made by 
Cadet McCance to his parents, which they declined giving, 
thinking him too young for the duties of active service, and 
feeling that their son was preparing at the Institute to take 
his part as a soldier in the most available way when the exi- 
gencies of his country required his services. But so fully 
alive was Cadet McCance to the stirring events of the times, 
and so earnest and constant were his appeals to his parents to 
be allowed to volunteer, and release him from the feeling of 
disgrace which he wrote depressed him at not being in active 
service, that at last they yielded their consent. 

In a letter written to his father, on the 20th of May, 1863, 
he says, " I received your reply to my last letter yesterday, 
which reply I've been anxiously awaiting. I am truly glad 
that you and mother have made no objection to my entering 
the army. I could not have gone contrary to your wishes, 
yet to remain here I would hate terribly. My mind is now 
at ease in regard to that. I have your written consent to my 
determination, for which I am very thankful. You spoke to 
me of the various vices to which young men are exposed in 
the army. I am what one calls determined, when the deter- 
mination benefits me, — obstinate by others, who wish me to 
do what I do not desire to do. You may think I have very 
little strength of will ; you are mistaken: I have a great deal. 
I neither drink, gamble, curse, smoke, nor chew, all of which 
vices I intend to avoid, as dangerous both to mind and body." 

Before leaving the Institute, Colonel Ship, commandant of 
cadets, gave Cadet McCance the following testimonial of 
standing : 

"Virginia Military Institute, 
"June 4, 1863. 

" Mr. R. G. McCance, a young gentleman from Richmond 
City, entered the Institute in January, 1862. He has received 



R. G. MCCANCE. 



375 



thorough practical instruction in the infantry drill, embracing 
the schools of soldier, company, and battalion, and instruc- 
tion for skirmishers ; and also in the drill of the battery. He 
is familiar with the duties of a soldier in camp and garrison, 
forms of parade, various duties of guards, etc, interior police, 
and military discipline. Cadet McCance's very creditable 
stand in a class of one hundred and fifty cadets indicates the 
possession of energy and ability. His strict integrity, high 
sense of honor and marked devotion to truth, and his gen- 
tlemanly deportment, have attracted the special attention of 
his officers. He will make a brave soldier and useful man. 
His character and acquirements will render him a valuable 
officer and accomplished instructor. I most cheerfully recom- 
mend him." 

Young McCance resigned and left the Institute in June, 
1863, and promptly joined the Otey Battery, then in camp 
near Gordonsville. He was with his company and in active 
service during the campaign via Charlottesville, Staunton, the 
Springs, and Wytheville, to Tennessee, and thence to Peters- 
burg. February 16, 1864, he wrote his father from Morris- 
town, Tennessee, as follows : 

"I now commence what you desired in your last letter, 
viz., a description of my soldier-life, and how I like it. Since 
leaving you I have been through a great many hardships, 
which, though insignificant when over, would have chilled me 
through and through if any one had told me that I was to 
suffer them. I find the sufferings of a soldier-life are exag- 
gerated, like most other things in this world, and to my mind 
this is all due to the desire of soldiers to be considered strong 
and hardy. To bring about this object, when at home they 
tell their friends things in too strong a light. It is true they 
suffer terribly sometimes, but not very often. I myself am 
very well pleased that it is so. I would hate to undergo what 
some say they have suffered. Since I entered the army I 
have taken everything like a true philosopher, — taking as my 
law the old adage, ' Everything for the best.' When I'm on 
a hard detail, I console myself with the thought that it might 



3/6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

be worse. If it rains, I am thankful because it is not cold ; if it 
is rainy and cold at the same time, I think it might be worse. 
In this manner my temper is nearly always unruffled ; and I 
expect it is owing to this that I am so well satisfied with the 
service. I don't believe I have been really angry since I 
joined the company. I allow myself to be annoyed as little 
as possible, either by men or things. I believe my good 
health is owing to my philosophy." 

While in camp near Petersburg he was taken sick, and was 
so much reduced that leave of absence was given him to visit 
his home. His health was soon restored, and he promptly 
returned to camp, and faithfully performed his duties until 
the 27th of August, 1864, when his soldier-life on earth was 
ended, — a shot from the enemy's guns killing him instantly 
as he was walking from his tent to his gun. 

All the correspondence of the son with his parents evi- 
denced a character of high instincts. The impression he 
made on others is feelingly illustrated by the following letter 
to his father, dated 

" Trenches, near Petersburg, 
" August 29, 1864. 

" Thomas W. McCance, Esq. 

" Dear Sir, — It was with much sorrow that I requested 
Mr. D. to inform you of the death of your noble boy. He 
was killed just before dark, by a shot from a spherical case, 
and while walking from his tent to his gun. No one saw him 
shot, but it had been only a few moments before that he had 
left his comrades to go to his tent (say two or three minutes), 
and while returning was killed instantly. 

" It was only the day before that I had remarked to his de- 
tachment that I had never seen a cooler, braver man under 
fire than he was, and for his youth it was remarkable. In 
other respects he was al&o a most excellent soldier, — faithful 
and prompt in the discharge of every duty, obedient to 
orders, affable, pleasant, and sociable, rendering himself pop- 
ular with his comrades, and gaining the high respect and 
esteem of his officers. I have never heard an oath or unclean 



CRAIG WOODROW MCDONALD. 



377 



speech from him, — things so common in the army, — and he 
was remarkably free from all bad habits which fell constantly 
under his eye. I mean what I say when I call him noble, 
manly, generous, brave. None that I have ever lost has en- 
listed my sympathy more, and the death of none has caused 
me as much sorrow. I deemed it proper to give you all the 
information I had of his death, and my own opinion of him 
as his commander, that parents, brothers, and sisters, might 
know that as a soldier he lived and died nobly. God grant 
that you and yours may be spared another such bereavement, 
and that He may heal the broken hearts, and finally unite your 
family in heaven, is the sincere prayer of yours truly, 

"D. N. Walker, 
" Captain Conmanding Battery y 

In the outpouring of sympathy, written and verbal, from his 
comrades and friends, old and young, his parents learned in 
his death new beauties in the character of their precious son. 



CRAIG WOODROW McDONALD, 

OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, VA. ; AID-DE-CAMP TO GENERAL ARNOLD 

ELZEY. 

Craig Woodrow McDonald was born in Romney, Hamp- 
shire County, Virginia, 1837. His mother was Lucy Ann 
Naylor, the daughter of William Naylor, of Hampshire, a 
lawyer distinguished in his day, and a prominent member of 
the Constitutional Convention of Virginia. His father was 
Colonel Angus W. McDonald, of Winchester, who was de- 
scended in direct line from the McDonalds of Glengary. He 
was by inheritance a soldier and a patriot. His Highland an- 
cestors had with unwavering loyalty followed the fortunes of 
the Stuarts. On many a field had they attested their fealty 



378 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

with the life-blood of the best and bravest of their clansmen. 
The motto on their escutcheon, " per mare, per terras," well 
describes the unflinching fidelity with which they clung to the 
cause of their rightful king, until it was overwhelmed with 
irremediable disaster on the bloody field of Culloden, 

His grandfather and great-grandfather had been soldiers. 
His father at the age of sixty-two gave up home for the 
bivouac, and staked his large possessions upon a doubtful 
issue, that he might assert and defend the sovereignty of his 
mother State. 

Young McDonald was familiar with the history and tradi- 
tion of his Scottish ancestry. Of quick perceptions, and an 
intelligent hearer of the political discussions around him, he 
was not slow to develop an enthusiastic loyalty to his State. 
Virginia was to him what feudal chief or legitimate sover- 
eign was to the true Highlander. In this fealty he never 
wavered, and he sealed his devotion with his life-blood on the 
field of battle. 

After good preparation in the Classical School in Romney, 
he entered the fourth class of the Virginia Military Institute, 
in July, 1855, where he remained one session. The following 
October he entered the University of Virginia, with the desire 
of prosecuting more exclusively literary and classical studies. 
At both schools he was distinguished for his splendid elo- 
cution. With a voice exquisitely musical, of widest compass, 
and perfectly distinct and clear through every modulation, 
with handsome person and perfect grace of manner, with 
ready fluency of speech, a clear intellect, and fertile imagi- 
nation, it is probable that he would have taken a place in the 
front rank of public speakers had he not been cut off at the 
very threshold of his career by the mysterious dispensation 
which cut down in the flower so many of our bravest and best. 

The spring of 1861 found young McDonald in Culpeper 
County, teaching school and studying law. Early in the war 
he joined General Elzey, at Winchester, and was appointed 
his aid-de-camp, which relation he maintained till his death 
at Gaines's Mills, in June, 1862. 



IV. //. MCDOWELL. 



379 



Just before the commencement of the series of battles around 
Richmond he was with his sisters, on furlough. At the first 
alarm he started for his command; he left with the distinct 
impression that he would be killed, yet this feeling did not 
for a moment damp the ardor of his zeal. In the battle of 
Gaines's Mills he saw a portion of our lines wavering. With 
quick perception he realized that disaster was imminent; hur- 
riedly, without waiting for orders even, he rode back to meet 
the reinforcements he knew to be coming. He met General 
Walker at the head of his command. A word, a gesture, told 
the story. General Walker gave the command to double- 
quick. The column swept forward to the rescue, McDonald 
at the head guiding and waving his cap high in air, and with 
clarion voice shouting rescue. A grape-shot struck him in 
the breast and he fell dead on the field of battle, and a nobler 
heart never beat response to nobler impulses than his who 
now lies still under the shades of the holly, beneath the green 
turf of Hollywood. 



w. H. Mcdowell, 

OF NORTH CAROLINA; PRIVATE, CO. " B," CORPS OF CADETS. 

W. H. McDowell was born in December, 1845. In Au- 
gust, 1863, became a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, 
and was killed in the charge of the corps of cadets at the 
battle of New Market, May 15, 1S64. Only a few months at 
the Institute, Cadet McDowell had made a good standing, 
being twenty-fourth on general merit in a class numbering 
one hundred and eighty. As the corps charged through the 
fatal orchard, on Rude's Hill, he was shot dead, falling out of 
the line across a wounded comrade. A mere boy in age and 
in appearance, he offered up his life for his native land. 



38o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

R. M. McKINNEY, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, I 5TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Robert M. McKinney, son of Thomas M. McKinney, Esq., 
was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, February 12, 1835. From 
his infancy he enjoyed the benefit of the training of a Chris- 
tian mother, and at an early age assumed himself the vows of 
the Christian profession. He was presented by the Rev. Wil- 
liam H. Kinckle as a candidate for confirmation November 3, 
1 85 1. His pastor was deeply impressed with the manly earn- 
estness and clearness of purpose of the young candidate, who, 
he foresaw, would make a zealous and faithful soldier of his 
Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. 

The following July he entered the Virginia Military Insti- 
tute, where he graduated July 4, 1856. In this school he met 
the trials and temptations which so commonly beset the young 
Christian with unflinching bravery, and maintained throughout 
an unswerving consistency with his principles and his profes- 
sion. There is good reason to believe that he left behind him 
there impressions not soon to be effaced. 

After his return from the Virginia Military Institute, Mr. 
McKinney opened a male school in Lynchburg, which he 
continued until March, i860, at which time he received and 
accepted the appointment of professor of French in the North 
Carolina Military Institute. This position he held until the 
beginning of the war. Immediately after offering his services 
to the State of North Carolina, he was detailed to take posses- 
sion of and hold Fort Caswell; this accomplished, he accepted 
the first captaincy in the regiment of the lamented Colonel 
Fisher, who fell at Manassas, but remained with this com- 
mand only a few weeks, when being offered the colonelcy of 
the 5th, afterwards the 15th, North Carolina Infantry, he re- 
signed, took command of his regiment, and was with it in the 
Peninsula in a few days. Here he remained during the sum- 



R. M. MC KINNEY. 381 

mer and winter campaign of 1861-62, except when the ap- 
proach of the enemy was expected at Suffolk and Goldsboro', 
to which places respectively he was sent, but returned to 
Yorktown just two weeks prior to his death. 

On the 1 6th of April, 1862, while his regiment was lying in 
entrenchments, near Dam No. 2, at the head of Warwick 
River, a body of the enemy effected a passage of a creek 
which had been thought not fordable ; but charging through 
the water up to their waists, they had almost succeeded in 
getting into the works before their approach was known. 
Before the line of the 15th could be well formed they were 
fired into by the 3d Vermont and another regiment. Colonel 
McKiNNEY springing to the front of his line ordered a "charge," 
and while the words of encouragement to his men were still 
on his lips, waving his sword in the air, cap in hand, the foe 
nearly repulsed, he received in full front a shot which imme- 
diately proved fatal. The death of Colonel McKinney caused 
a momentary panic, of which the enemy took advantage and 
endeavored to flank them on the left, but nerving themselves 
with desperation to avenge the loss of their much-beloved 
leader, they obstinately retained their ground until the gallant 
7th Georgia hurried to their assistance. With a yell that made 
the welkin ring they drove the enemy before them, strewing 
the marsh with their dead and wounded. The attack was 
gallantly repulsed, but it had cost them dear, and his men 
returned to their posts with sad and heavy hearts. 

From a notice in the Petersburg Express of the iSth of 
April, the following is taken : " The remains of the gallant 
young officer, the colonel of the 15th Regiment North Caro- 
lina Volunteers, who was killed in the engagement on the 
Peninsula, Wednesday afternoon, were brought to this city 
yesterday on the City Point train. The dispatch acquainting 
his friends here with his death stated that * he fell while gal- 
lantly leading a charge.' No more honorable tribute could be 
paid to a noble commander than this. Colonel McKinney 
was a native of Lynchburg, where he now leaves an aged and 
afflicted father, sisters, and brothers to mourn his early death. 



382 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

He was a man of brilliant literary acquirements, and a military- 
genius of the best school. At the time he was called to com- 
mand his late regiment he occupied a professor's chair in the 
Charlotte Military Institute, in which capacity he rendered 
most valuable services. He had flattering offers made to him 
from other States of honorable and remunerative positions, 
but he was unwilling to leave the old North State, which 
had first received him. His men were affectionately attached 
to him ; in fact, they could not do otherwise than love him, for 
he shared their hardships and exposures, and associated freely 
and affectionately with them. His remains are to be sent to 
Lynchburg, 

" Military honors were shown to the deceased by several of 
the companies encamped in town, who were in waiting at the 
depot on the arrival of the train. The body, subsequently 
exposed to view, was visited by many of our citizens," 

Colonel McKiNNEY had expressed the conviction that he 
would be killed in his first battle. How sadly was this fore- 
boding realized ! 

It is surely a privilege to contemplate a character in which 
there is so much symmetry and completeness as in the case of 
this brave soldier. Modest and unassuming to a very unusual 
degree in all that regarded himself, he was bold, fearless, and 
outspoken in vindication of what he considered right. Rigid 
in his consistency to the principles which he made the rules 
of his own conduct, he was yet lenient and charitable to the 
faults of others. Cheerful, gentle, and courteous in his bear- 
ing, he won the affection and esteem of all who knew him. 



Z. JV. MEARS.— J. LAWRENCE MEEM. 383 

L. W. MEARS, 

OF HAMPTON, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, OLD DOMINION DRAGOONS. 

L. W. Mears, son of William W. Mears, of Hampton, 
Elizabeth City County, Virginia, was born in 1838. In his 
eighteenth year he became a cadet in the Military Institute, 
and graduated with the class of 1859. In May, 1 861, he re- 
ceived a commission as a lieutenant in the Provisional Army 
of Virginia, and held this position until the disbanding of this 
force in the following October, when he enlisted in the Old 
Dominion Dragoons as a private, and served with this com- 
pany until overtaken by disease and death in the following 
year. 



J. LAWRENCE MEEM, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, AND ADJUTANT-GENERAL, GAR- 
LAND'S BRIGADE. 

This noble young man, while gallantly leading a portion of 
our forces in the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, re- 
ceived, about six o'clock in the evening, a mortal wound, of 
which he instantly died. It was impossible, in the confusion 
of that great battle-day, to bring his body from the field, and 
a few friends, during the night, carefully wrapping it in the 
simple habiliments of a soldier, and hastily digging a grave 
with their bayonets, laid the precious relic under the very 
breastworks of the enemy, which, in part by his valor, had 
been taken. There they left him, 

" Like a warrior taking his rest, 
With his martial cloak around him." 



384 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

J. Lawrence Meem, the youngest son of John G. and Ehza 
C. Meem, was born in the city of Lynchburg on the 2d 
April, 1836, and, at his death, aged a few days over twenty- 
six years. In childhood he was the darling of his parents, 
early exhibiting those traits of gentleness, respect, and filial 
reverence which sit so gracefully on the young, and are the 
germ of solid worth in maturer life. After the usual prepara- 
tory studies of the grammar-school, he entered the Virginia 
Military Institute in July, 1853, where he spent several years, 
earning golden opinions from its professors, and in an unusual 
degree enjoying the love and respect of his fellow-students. 
In July, 1856, having successfully mastered the subjects taught 
in that institution, and received his diploma, he returned home 
to take his place in the great drama of life among men. 

His mind was sound, practical, and discriminating ; his 
judgment of men and things, excellent; his education not 
merely in the routine of scholastic studies, but varied by other 
and useful reading, sometimes historical, sometimes politic, 
but all of a nature to improve and elevate him morally and 
mentally. 

He was of fine personal appearance, — a model of manly 
beauty ; of manners gentle and winning, of temper even and 
generous, of taste most refined, fond of music and flowers, 
an ardent admirer of the gentler sex, a warm friend, a true- 
hearted Virginian. These are not mere words of eulogy ; 
they describe what Lawrence Meem was. Alas, alas, that 
such a man should fall, dying doubly, because dying so early! 

In 1858, anxious to expand his mind and to increase his 
store of knowledge, he made a tour of a few months through 
England and France, and then proceeded to Brazil, where he 
remained a considerable time, finding employment in the 
engineer department of the Don Pedro II. Railroad. For 
this service his knowledge of mathematics and singular skill 
as a draughtsman singularly fitted him. In the latter depart- 
ment he was almost unrivaled. The writer has had occasion 
to examine and admire some of the products of his hand, and 
learns that he was often called on by his generals and other 



y. LAWRENCE ME EM. 385 

superiors for drafts and maps of battles ; and of the latter, he 
has seen his map of the battle of Bull Run, which for beauty 
of execution and accuracy of description he believes cannot 
be excelled. It called forth praise from all who saw it, and 
Major-General Longstreet with his own hand wrote upon its 
face an official approval. 

He was a close observer of passing events. During his 
sojourn abroad he wrote a series of letters to his father, 
which, though not intended for the press, were published, and 
read with great interest. They were filled with apt descrip- 
tions of the novel scenes he witnessed in the Old World and 
faithful historical allusions, and interspersed with moral re- 
flections indicating a chaste and pure heart and elevated 
mind. 

Returning from Rio after an absence of nearly a year, he 
entered the University of Virginia in the fall of 1858, and 
devoted himself during that session to the study of general 
literature. 

He was fond of the fine arts, and, besides being a devotee of 
music from others, himself performed well on several instru- 
ments. He had a taste for collecting articles of virtu, brought 
a large collection of curiosities from Rio, and had amassed a 
number of antique coins, making a little cabinet in which he 
took a deep interest, and which is now a treasure beyond 
all price to his parents. 

To the last hour of life he remembered the divine injunc- 
tion, " Honor thy father and mother," and no son was ever 
more blessed in turn with that most beautiful of all earthly 
affections, parental love. He was faithful and true in his 
friendships, of excellent business habits, and in every pecu- 
niary transaction " an honest man." 

When the war broke out, he was among the first to take up 
arms in defense of our homes and freedom. On the 23d of 
April, 1 86 1, he entered the service as orderly sergeant of the 
Home Guard, then commanded by Captain Garland, who, on 
his promotion to the rank of colonel, made him adjutant of 
the regiment. He held this office until Colonel Garland was, 



386 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

after the battle of Williamsburg, made a brigadier, and was 
then appointed adjutant-general of the brigade. Nobly filling 
the duties of this post he perished. 

From the day he entered the service his soul seemed to be 
given up to the cause of his country. He was always at the 
post of duty, in summer or in winter, in sunshine or in storm, 
never having been absent except on a brief visit home to wit- 
ness the interment of a favorite sister. 

His gallantry was conspicuous at first Manassas, at Drains- 
ville, and at Williamsburg. On the morning of the battle of 
Seven Pines he rose bright and cheerful and well ; he spent the 
day in the thickest of the fight, cheering our men and sharing 
their hardships and dangers, having two horses killed under 
him. Towards its close, when inside the enemy's breast- 
works, from which they had been driven, he was pierced by 
one of their balls, and fell dead. 

Amid the stirring scenes of camps and marches and battles 
in which he spent his last year, this exemplary young man 
did not forget his duty to his God. In a letter from an officer 
of high rank, who had constant means of observing him, 
written since his death to a very dear friend, the following 
tribute was paid him : 

" I must tell you with what beautiful consistency my gallant 
comrade each night drew out his Testament and reverently 
read a chapter before retiring to rest. The regularity and 
feeling with which this was done in the camp, on the picket, 
in the very presence of the enemy, his remarkable purity of 
character (almost womanlike), and frequent expressions of his, 
inspire me ivitJi hope and confidence. 

" I have slept, sat, ridden, dwelt, continually with my poor 
friend for the last fourteen months, and shall hereafter think of 
him as a Bayard, ' sans penr ct sans nproche' His appearance 
at Williamsburg and in the recent fight was singular, almost 
supernatural, and his bearing magnificent. I felt intensely 
proud of him at the moment of his fall, — his praises were 
upon every lip, and now he is always spoken of as the gallant 
Captain Meem." 



y. S. MOFFETT.— ANDREW J. MONTAGUE. 387 

Most tenderly is his memory cherished by father and mother, 

and sister and brothers, and kindred and friends ; aye, and by 

one more dear than friend. 

Charles L, Mosby, 

(/« University Memorial^ 



J. S. MOFFETT, 

OF ROCKBRIDGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; PRIVATE, 4TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

John S. Moffett entered the Virginia Military Institute in 
July, i860, in his eighteenth year. In the spring of 1861 
volunteered as a private in the 4th Virginia Infantry, and 
served with it until killed, at the first battle of Manassas, July 
21, 1 86 1. Charlie Moore, Charlie Norris, and John Moffett 
all became brother-cadets within a few days of each other, 
entered service together, and on the same day died for their 
common mother country in their first battle for her rights. 



ANDRE^A^ J. MONTAGUE, 

OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. "C," 55TH VIRGINIA. 

INFANTRY. 

Andrew Jackson, son of Lewis B. Montague and Catharine 
S., his wife, was born in the county of Middlesex, on the 4th of 
July, 1842. After going to neighborhood schools he was sent 
to Fleetwood Academy, then conducted by Mr, Oliver White. 
While at this institution, where he was associated with many 
youths of the best families of the neighboring counties, Jack, 
as he was familiarly called, was very popular. He bore the 
reputation of great sprightliness, and evinced many evidences 
of strong native intellect. He was highly esteemed and be- 



388 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

loved by his kind preceptors, Messrs. White and Council. He 
remained at the academy for two years, when he was sent to 
the Virginia Military Institute, in the year i860. He there 
entered the fourth class, and remained until April, 1861, when 
the most efficient members of the corps were ordered to Rich- 
mond to act as drill-masters. These cadets were assigned 
to a camp of instruction, afterwards known as Camp Lee. 
While here they rendered very efficient services in drilling 
raw volunteers rushing to the defense of the Southern cause. 
Most of the troops from the Southern States as they were 
sent on to Virginia were ordered to remain at this camp, 
and many of the Virginia regiments also, previous to their 
being mustered into the service. It was here that officers and 
men were instructed in the duties of a soldier and the details 
of camp-life. Here many of the troops were organized who 
afterwards gained the wonderful battle of Manassas, thereby 
winning an imperishable renown for Southern prowess and 
reflecting much credit upon the discipline enforced at the 
camp of instruction. Young Montague remained in the per- 
formance of these duties as long as they were needed. Instead 
of returning to the Institute and completing his course, he was 
inspired with all the ardent patriotism of youth, and preferred 
the sterner duties of active service to the more retired life of a 
cadet. Although he had the benefit of a military education, as 
far as his time allowed, he did not wait for office to which he 
might with all justice and reason have aspired, but entered, in 
March, 1862, Co. " C," of the 55th Virginia Infantry, as a pri- 
vate. In this company he was associated with the most refined 
and intelligent material of his county, where there was but little 
prospect of promotion among so many young men of high in- 
telligence and equal social position. Jack Montague joined 
just as the regiment was going into real active service. He 
manifested in camp the same cheerful, bright disposition he 
had always shown ; every service was performed with the 
greatest zeal and alacrity, and the writer well remembers 
how cheering his jokes were to his wearied comrades on the 
march. He was exceedingly popular with all his regiment, 



ANDREW J. MONTAGUE. 389 

and set a valuable and important example to his comrades. 
His regiment saw quite active service in the spring of 1862, 
marching and picketing in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, 
made a forced march to Richmond, and there participated in 
the battles around the city. In the battle of Mechanicsville, 
the writer noticed with great admiration the coolness dis- 
played by Jack when under such terrific fire. The regiment 
suffered very severely. On the next day, the 27th of June, 
the regiment participated in the battle of Gaines's Mills, where 
it again suffered severely. Among those who stood true to 
their colors Montague was at his post in the front rank, where 
he received a flesh wound in the arm, the same ball passing 
through the flesh and severely wounding his rear-rank man. 
Jack was sent to Richmond, where he met his brother, who 
conveyed him to a private house. After reaching quarters, he 
was taken with an inflammation which produced fever. His 
head was very much affected towards the last of his illness. 
While here, with all the attention of a good physician and hos- 
pitable family and the assiduous nursing of a devoted brother, 
his symptoms grew worse, until he fell a victim to disease pro- 
duced from his wound. The writer also remembers his 
wandering thoughts the night before his death, as his mind 
reverted to the battle scenes and he alluded to the marshal- 
ing of troops. Thus, like his immortal instructor, he passed 
over the river with his mind engrossed in the raging conflict 
on earth. He died quietly and happily on July 12, 1862. 

George D. Nicholson. 



390 INSTITUTE memorial: 

CHARLES W. MOORE, 

OF MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE ; DRILL-MASTER, C. S. A. 

Charles W. Moore was entered at the Virginia Military- 
Institute by General W. Y. C. Humes, in August, i860. In the 
spring of 1861 he went to Richmond with the corps of cadets, 
and acted as one of the drill-masters in the camp of instruc- 
tion at that place, until ordered on same duty to Manassas. 
At the first battle of Manassas, July 21, 1 861, he went into the 
fight as a volunteer, and was killed at the head of his com- 
pany, leading it in a charge on one of the enemy's batteries. 
At the time of his death young Moore was in his nineteenth 
year. 



EDWARD FORD MORGAN, 

OF AUGUSTA, GEORGIA ; MAJOR, 8tH GEORGIA BATTALION. 

Strongly as our sympathies must be aroused, and our 
hearts touched by the deep anguish of parents whose noble 
scions have been hurried into eternity from the red field of 
battle, by the deadly bullet or screaming shell, yet how 
stronger and deeper must the feeling of pity be when an aged 
couple, having seen their only child, at the first call of duty, 
gallantly espouse the cause of his fatherland, and, with unfal- 
tering energy and never-tiring faith, pass through all the 
multitudinous dangers of an entire war unharmed, his life 
preserved in the storm of battle and from the deadly attack 
of insidious disease ; having welcomed him home with that 
just pride that has no equal, — the parents' pride in a patriot 
son, — they find he has come but to die. Such, in brief, is the 
story of the life told below. We know that many a Southern 



EDWARD FORD MORGAN. 



391 



heart will beat in tender sympathy with the bereaved parents 
of young Edward Morgan. 

Edward Ford Morgan, only son of George W. and Ma- 
tilda Anna Morgan, was born in Augusta, Georgia, on the 
9th of October, 1843. Receiving the usual education of a 
boy in his station in life, he entered the Virginia Military 
Institute on the 23d of July, i860, in his seventeenth year. 
Upon a call of General Garnett, he with other cadets volun- 
tarily went to Western Virginia, in July, 1861, before which 
time none of the cadets had been sent on dangerous service. 
He shared the dangers and hardships of the army on its 
retreat, and was not far from the general when he was killed. 
In the fall of 1861 he received a commission as cadet in the 
Confederate army, and was ordered to report to General Law- 
ton, at Savannah. Here he was first assigned to Colonel 
Spalding's regiment, in which he served until the following 
spring, when he was attached to the 8th Georgia Battalion, in 
which he remained until a fragment of it was surrendered, in 
1865, by General Johnston to Sherman. 

Cadet Morgan was appointed captain in the provisional 
army of the Confederate States in the summer of 1862, and 
ordered with his battalion immediately thereafter into Missis- 
sippi, where he was in General Johnson's army, marching on 
Vicksburg, and within fifteen miles of that city when it capit- 
ulated. He then returned to Georgia, and actively partici- 
pated in the battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge, 
being on the right in the last-named battle, and retreating 
with that wing to Dalton. Soon after General Johnston as- 
sumed command of the Western army, Captain Morgan 
received his commission as major, then the youngest man 
of that rank in the army. Serving unremittingly from 
Dalton to Atlanta, he was in the battle fought by General 
Hood with Sherman at the latter place, and was wounded 
very severely, — at first thought mortally, — by a Minic-ball, 
which passed through his neck. 

After recruiting at home for about sixty days, Major Mor- 
gan started for his command, but was prevented, by an attack 



392 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



of erysipelas, from being present at the battles of Franklin 
and Nashville. In passing through Augusta after these dis- 
asters, though only a major in rank, he was in command of 
what remained of General Gist's Brigade, to which his bat- 
talion had long been attached. He clung to the remnant of 
the Western army, and shared its fate in North Carolina. 

Few of his youthful compatriots possessed more of the 
elements of a soldier. The maturity of his thought, and the 
clearness of his judgment in military affairs, were remarkable 
in one of his years ; and looking to the profession of arms for 
honorable distinction, none felt more keenly and bitterly the 
fall of the Confederacy. He was generous, unselfish, modest, 
and brave, and was universally respected and loved by offi- 
cers and men. A boy in years ; a man in attributes. 

The last few years of his short but eventful life were spent 
in superintending a plantation between the Coosa and Talla- 
poosa Rivers, in Alabama, where their waters meet and com- 
mingle as one ; and there, in the morning of life, on the 3d of 
January, 1869, he died, from disease contracted in service. 
His remains lie in the beautiful cemetery at Augusta, Georgia. 



W. H. MORGAN, 



OF CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " F," 2IST VIR- 
GINIA INFANTRY. 

The military life of William Henry Morgan is that of one 
who, after enduring all the physical hardships of a series of 
disheartening campaigns, is suddenly cut off when, as it were, 
he first tastes the actual pleasures of war. 

The space allotted to this sketch does not permit a detailed 
account of the boyhood of the subject ; nor is that of great 
importance to the purpose before us. Suffice it to say that 
W. H. Morgan was born in the county of Chesterfield, on the 
1st of September, 1839. 



PV. H. MORGAN. 



393 



At the age of seventeen he matriculated at the Virginia 
MiHtary Institute, and on the i8th of September, 1856, en- 
tered the fourth class. The four years of his college-life were 
most creditable, — having during that time, in addition to a 
fair stand in his class, received each successive year the 
highest military office in the gift of the Institute. He gradu- 
ated on the 4th of July, i860, taking a general stand of thir- 
teen in a class of forty-one, as captain of "A" Company, 
having served with merit in each successive grade from that 
of corporal. 

Morgan was a man of modest and retiring disposition, of 
simple tastes, and uniform temper ; taciturn at all times, yet 
ready to give a decided opinion upon any subject to which he 
had given sufficient thought. 

He was as a cadet enthusiastically devoted to the military 
portion of his studies, and was most conscientious in the dis- 
charge of the duties of the various grades that he filled. 
Probably no cadet officer was more respected by his com- 
rades, nor was there a lack of appreciation of these qualities 
by his superior officers, for at the close of his graduating 
year he was invited to take service on the staff of the Insti- 
tute as assistant instructor of tactics. He filled this position 
with satisfaction to his superiors until his entry into the Con- 
federate service. 

The first contribution made by Morgan to his State, was 
drilling and in other ways fitting for active service a company 
of students formed at Washington College. This work was 
so well and thoroughly done that the appreciation of the 
company manifested itself in a suitable present, — a pair of 
field-glasses, that were carried by the recipient on many hard- 
fought fields. 

On the 20th of April, 1861, in company with other officers 
of the Virginia Military Institute, Morgan was ordered to 
Camp Lee, the recruiting depot of the army, situated near 
Richmond. He had been there only a short time when he 
was appointed adjutant of Gilham's 21st Regiment, then un- 
der orders for West Virginia. On the 15th of August this 



394 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



regiment, forming a part of the Corps of Observation of West 
Virginia, was camped near Valley Mountain. From this time 
until December he endured with patience all the privations 
incident to the campaign of West Virginia. There was little 
fighting, but worse by far to the young soldiers just entering 
a campaign, hunger, cold, and disappointment met them at 
every turn, — everything, in fact, that could weary the body 
and harass the mind. 

During the month of December the 2d Brigade of Loring's 
Division, commanded by Colonel Gilham, was ordered to the 
Valley to reinforce General Jackson, then operating near 
Winchester. Morgan was at this time acting assistant adju- 
tant-general. 

The brigade reached the Valley in time to participate in 
the battle of Kernstown. In this action Morgan rendered 
efficient service, by the skill and steadiness with which he 
seconded the efforts of his chief 

At the reorganization of the army, in 1862, Morgan was 
elected captain of Company " F," 21st Regiment. This placed 
him at once in a position that he had eagerly desired since 
his entry into the service, — the direct line of promotion. He 
accepted the position without hesitation, retiring from the 
staff of the brigade. 

As captain of infantry in that famous division of " Stone- 
wall " Jackson, he shared with distinction all the glory of the 
Valley campaigns, the hard marching and the incessant fight- 
ing for the relief of Richmond. From the banks of the James 
his command was transferred by rail to Gordonsville. 

On the 9th of August, 1862, the advance of Jackson's force 
had penetrated northward as far as Cedar Mountain. Here 
the leading column was checked by Federal troops under 
Banks. Jackson at once prepared to give battle. Sending 
forward the division of Early to develop the strength of the 
enemy, he placed the division of Winder, then arriving on the 
ground, in support. Afterwards it was found necessary to 
take ground to the left. In doing this the 2d Brigade (to 
which belonged the 21st Regiment) was placed on the ex- 



IV. H. MORGAN. 



395 



treme left of the line, the left regiment somewhat retired. In 
support of the 2d Brigade was placed the " Stonewall " 
Brigade, but unfortunately with so little regard to true mili- 
tary tactics as to leave a wide gap between the left of the 
2d Brigade and the entire front of the supports. This bad 
alignment, as will be seen, was fruitful of confusion and dis- 
aster. Probably, had Winder not been killed almost as soon 
as he reached the field, this would have all been rectified. 

The enemy, though driven back somewhat on the right, 
still held their ground on the left ; in fact, had increased the 
number of guns in their front. The artillery fire was inces- 
sant, and the execution among the troops quite destructive, — 
the 2d Brigade especially, being on the flank and subjected to 
a partial enfilade, suffered severely. 

Perhaps there is nothing that so fascinates the gaze of the 
soldier, and diverts his attention from the horrors of the 
battle-field and its attendant fears and misgivings, as the spec- 
tacle of an officer who calmly and fearlessly looks death in 
the face; one who bears himself with the ease and serenity 
that becomes the drawing-room rather than the disordered 
arena of carnage ; who, without the least bravado, yet with 
the high pride and courage that scorns the base thought of 
fear, encourages others, and stands with waiting patience to 
meet his fate ; one, in short, who knows no compromise with 
duty. In such noble presence even the basest minds must 
feel the electric effect of their proximity ; it is the one touch 
of nature that makes all akin, and mesmerizes the mind and 
body of the crowd to the strong will of the leader. 

Thus it was that Morgan, reckless of his own life, moved 
with careless ease before his men, whom he compelled to lie 
down under the severe artillery fire to which they were ex- 
posed. 

In the mean time the pressure in front of the brigade had 
become very much increased ; the irregular line of skir- 
mishers was replaced by solid masses of infantry; the ad- 
vance had begun, and in a few minutes a fierce force 
poured down on the 2d Brigade, overlapping its left flank, 



396 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

and filling the gap between that brigade and the " Stonewall." 
The last corps, taken on the flank and in reverse, at once 
broke, as did also the left regiment of the 2d Brigade. It 
was reserved for the 21st Regiment to stay the torrent, and 
hold in check, for a few minutes only (but yet how important 
even that time!), the victorious enemy. In this melee Morgan, 
ever foremost in action, met a glorious death, while encour- 
aging his men to stand fast and do their duty. 

Thus fell, in the prime of life, a most gallant soldier and 
virtuous gentleman. Throughout his military career he never 
failed either in the comprehension or performance of his duty, 
and in the high promise that he gave of future usefulness, it 
is not too much to say that the scope of his office was far too 
small to show the exteTnt of his genius. No greater compli- 
ment could be rendered him as an officer than the discipline 
of his company under the trying circumstances of his death. 

Captain John D. Young. 



JOHN F. NEFF, 

OF SHENANDOAH COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 33D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

The pen of the writer cannot do justice to the character or 
the memory of Colonel John F. Neff, and he would gladly 
transfer the task imposed upon him to some one better fitted 
by taste and culture to perform the duty. Much has been 
said and written since the close of the terrific struggle of 
the past decade respecting the worth, gallantry, and nobility 
of character of those fallen braves who participated in it, 
and yet all that has been said so justly, graphically, and elo- 
quently of others might be said of the subject of this brief 
sketch. He was one of nature's noblemen. Though his 
career was a brief one, it was long enough for the develop- 
ment in an eminent degree of the character of the Christian 
man, soldier, and patriot. 



JOHN F. NEFF. 397 

Colonel Neff was born in the county of Shenandoah, State 
of Virginia, on the 5th of September, 1834, and was the oldest 
son of John Neff, a prosperous farmer and a faithful and ex- 
emplary minister in the denomination of Christians known as 
the Tunkers. His residence is on the north fork of the She- 
nandoah River, and within view of that magnificent landed 
estate belonging to John G. Meem called Mount Airy. The 
Neff family is a numerous one in the Valley of Virginia, and 
the name is the synonym of honesty, industry, and hospitality. 
Nefif's School-House, which stood on the Valley turnpike, 
within a few miles of the town of New Market, was Colonel 
Neff's preparatory department. There, for a few months in 
each consecutive year, he enjoyed the tuition of some of the 
most indifferent instructors. The instruction which he re- 
ceived was sufficient to enkindle within his breast an un- 
quenchable thirst for knowledge, and to cause the formation 
of a resolution to secure for himself, if possible, all the advan- 
tages of a liberal education. The desire which burned within 
him prompted him when but a youth, amid discouragements 
of no ordinary character, to launch his frail bark out upon the 
rough sea of life. The wherewithal had to be secured else- 
where than under the parental roof, and long years must in- 
tervene before, by dint of his own personal exertions, he could 
hope to realize a sufficient amount to carry him through the 
curriculum of some first-class institution of learning. With 
reference to the accomplishment of the object had in view we 
find him in the far-off South, at one time clerking in a mer- 
cantile establishment, and at another time writing in a clerk's 
office. Disease prostrates him, and the tardily-accumulated 
money is diverted into a channel not anticipated, and the de- 
sired object recedes farther into the misty future. But afflic- 
tion and its concomitants fail to dampen his ardor or shake 
his resolution. A shorter route to the desired goal occurred to 
him, and we find him seeking the co-operation and influence 
of a distinguished gentleman with reference to his admission 
into the Virginia Military Institute as a State cadet. The 
effort was made, but the rules and regulations of said institu- 



398 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

tion, founded upon statutory law, barred his entrance. Finally, 
through an influential friend, — who proved to be a friend in- 
deed, — he renewed the effort to induce his father to send him 
as a pay cadet to the institution of his choice. The consider- 
ations presented to the mind of his father prevailed, and long- 
cherished prejudices were uprooted. Who can imagine the 
joy which swelled the breast and beamed in the sunny coun- 
tenance of the young adventurer upon the reception and 
perusal of a letter from his father bidding him come home, and 
assuring him that the necessary means would be furnished to 
enable him to take the regular course at the Virginia Military 
Institute ? Gladly did he return to the parental roof which 
he had forsaken, assured of his father's ability to perform 
the promise made him. It was but a short time ere young 
Neff was where he had longed to be, enjoying the advan- 
tages of one of the best institutions of the kind in the South, 
and within the moulding influence of men who have since 
shed a lustre upon the page of their country's history which 
will be undimmed by the lapse of time. Could young Neff 
have had his own way, he would have emerged from college 
about the time he entered. Thrown among many of the 
most gifted sons of the South, he soon, by his generous nature 
and manly deportment, won friends, and bound them so closely 
to him by the silken cords of friendship as that they could 
not be separated by lapse of time or the vicissitudes of life. 
Despite the imperfections of Colonel Neff's early education 
and training, he took a high stand as to scholarship among 
his classmates, and discovered, both to his associates and to 
his instructors, the true elements of intellectual manhood. 
He made claim to the law as a profession, and no sooner did 
he quit the Institute than he entered the law-class of Judge J, 
W, Brokenbrough. Having obtained license to practice his 
profession, he went South, and first solicited professional busi- 
ness in the city of New Orleans, subsequently at Baton Rouge, 
and finally at Memphis, Tennessee. At the latter place, he 
formed an association in business with James H. Unthank, 
Esq., and continued with him until the commencement of 



JOHN F. NEFF. 399 

hostilities between the North and South. No sooner was the 
tocsin of alarm sounded than Colonel Neff severed his asso- 
ciations in business, and turned his back upon professional 
prospects the most flattering and encouraging, and sought a 
position for which he was so well fitted by training and edu- 
cation in the service of the Confederate States. On his return 
to his native Virginia, he sought and obtained from Governor 
Letcher, at Richmond, a commission as a drill-officer, and was 
ordered to report for duty to the officer in command of the 
forces at Harper's Ferry. He tarried but a day or two at home 
on his way to Harper's Ferry, and then, with other graduates 
of the Virginia Military Institute, engaged in the important 
work of drilling the patriotic officers and men with reference 
to the mighty conflict which was at hand. It is difficult to 
estimate the value of the services thus rendered by Colonel 
Neff and others. Doubtless the unparalleled success of the 
Confederate arms was, in a great measure, attributable to it. 

The brigade subsequently commanded by General T. J. 
Jackson was in process of formation, and Colonel A. C. Cum- 
mings was placed in command of several volunteer companies 
in said brigade, the nucleus of what was afterwards known as 
the 33d Virginia Regiment. Said regiment was composed 
principally of companies from Shenandoah, the native county 
of Colonel Neff, and he very naturally sought duty with this 
command. His comrades in arms who survive him will bear 
testimony to his faithfulness and efficiency as a drill-officer. 
Colonel Cummings, who had seen service in the Mexican 
war, and who had won for himself an enviable reputation by 
his soldierly qualities and gallantry, appreciating the worth 
of Colonel Neff, tendered to him the position of adjutancy in 
his regiment, which he accepted. He made a model adjutant. 
Handsome in person, genteel in appearance, kind, courteous, 
and affable to all, and ever ready and willing to discharge 
his duty, however unpleasant its character, he soon won the 
admiration and affection of his superiors and inferiors in posi- 
tion. In action, we need but speak of Colonel Neff's conduct 
in the first battle of Manassas and we have epitomized his con- 



400 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



duct and bearing in every subsequent engagement in which he 
participated. He did not seem to partake of that wild enthu- 
siasm which seized and possessed almost every other individual 
in his command. Cool, calm, and collected, he discharged 
the duties of his position very much after the style with which 
he discharged them in the camp or bivouac. He had too 
much pride of character to shrink from danger, and this is, 
after all, the sum total of courage. Incidents might be given 
illustrative of the qualities and characteristics attributed to 
Colonel Neff, but time and space will not permit of giving 
them in detail. 

Colonel A. C. Cummings, for reasons which, if fully known, 
it would not be proper to state, a short time previous to the 
reorganization of the army, in the spring of 1862, declared a 
purpose not to permit his name to be offered as a candidate 
for re-election. The determination of Colonel C. momentarily 
cast a gloom over his command, and all eyes were turned upon 
Colonel Neff as the most suitable person to take his position 
as commandant of the regiment. This circumstance of itself 
speaks volumes, when it is remembered that Colonel Neff, 
though among the youngest officers in the command, was 
thought to be the man for a position which had been so con- 
spicuously filled by a veteran soldier and officer. Election- 
day came, and with scarcely a dissentient voice he was elevated 
to the position. Colonel Neff did not seek the position ; it 
sought him. Indeed, his native modesty would scarcely per- 
mit him to receive what had been with so much unanimity 
bestowed. The sequel proved that the estimate formed of his 
worth, character, and courage was not erroneous, nor the 
confidence reposed in him misplaced. He filled Colonel 
Cummings's place; to say more would be needlessly in- 
vidious. Were the writer of this sketch called upon for the 
secret of Colonel Neff's popularity, he would not revert to 
the conspicuous gallantry he exhibited amid the baptism of 
fire on the plains of first Manassas, — however gallant there, 
others there were who were equally so, — nor would he attempt 
to draw it in the fact that he was in the midst of his country- 



JOHN F. NEFF. 4OI 

men, and by them elevated to position ; but rather would he 
seek to trace it in his nobility of character, high sense of honor, 
blended with the sweetest and kindliest disposition ever found 
in the sterner sex, which beamed forth in his benignant face, 
spoke in the utterances of his voice, and in his every action. 
Men and officers loved him, — could not help loving him, — 
obeyed him because they loved him, and followed him into the 
very jaws of death. Love is a magic influence, and is more 
potent in camp and on the march, or in the sanguinary con- 
flict, than all else beside. The love and admiration which he 
challenged relieved him sensibly of the onerousness of the re- 
sponsible duties which his position imposed. There were prior 
to the reorganization of the army several things which created 
more or less dissatisfaction among the troops. The prohibi- 
tion to their joining a different arm of service from that in which 
they originally enlisted after their term of enlistment expired, 
and the conscription of the militia and incorporation of them 
with the regiments of volunteers, were among the principal 
causes of dissatisfaction. Colonel Neff, without an apparent 
effort, poured oil upon the troubled waters, and very soon not a 
murmur of discontent was heard in his command. In a very 
short time after he assumed command it was thoroughly or- 
ganized, disciplined, and prepared for the future conflicts of the 
war. Swift Run Gap, where the reorganization of General 
Jackson's army took place, was the basis of those grand and 
rapid movements which gave him a world-wide reputation as 
a military chieftain, and which have been styled as Napoleonic 
in their character as well as results. Colonel Neff was with, 
his command in every engagement, commencing with Mc- 
Dowell and ending with second Manassas, where he met his 
untimely fate. 

After the rout of General Banks, General Jackson retired 
through the Valley of Virginia before the superior forces of 
Generals Fremont and McDowell. He took a position near 
Port Republic, when he was threatened in his rear by one of the 
generals named, and in his front by the other. On that Sab- 
bath morning, which shall ever be remembered, when General. 

26 



402 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Jackson met, at the bridge spanning the Shenandoah at Port 
RepubHc, the forces under General Shields and hurled them 
back, and about the same time threw the forces under Gen- 
eral Ewell across the path of General Fremont at Cross Keys, 
Colonel Neff was ordered to take his regiment and guard the 
several fords of the Shenandoah a few miles below Port Re- 
public. It was a responsible position, but intrusted to one 
who, though young in command, had won the confidence of 
his superiors, and who, if occasion had required, would have 
demonstrated, as he had done before and as he did subse- 
quently, that he was the right man in the right place. As was 
anticipated, General Shields did not make a second effort to 
cross the Shenandoah and unite his own with the forces of 
General Fremont. From some misapprehension of orders, 
Colonel Neff, late in the evening of the day, was ordered to 
join his brigade at Port Republic. He did so, but after night- 
fall was ordered to reoccupy the position which he had held 
during the day. It was late at night before he made such 
disposition of his troops as promised freedom from surprise 
and successful attack. Wearied by the activities, toils, and 
anxieties of the past few days, he sought repose. The sun was 
shining brightly the next morning when he awoke, and he at 
once inquired, " No marching orders yet?" and upon being told 
that none had been received, he replied that General Winder 
had certainly forgotten him and his command. He commu- 
nicated with him, and found the fact to be as he supposed. 
Learning that his brigade was marching, with orders to engage 
the enemy when he met him, on the opposite side of the river, 
with the greatest promptitude he collected his troops and set 
out to join it. He found General Ewell's troops crossing the 
foot bridge which had been thrown across the river. Not 
willing to wait on said troops, he asked and obtained permis- 
sion to cross his troops cotemporaneously. He crossed first, 
having ordered his troops to follow as rapidly as possible. 
When the last were thus crossed over. Colonel Neff having 
personally superintended their alignment, the regiment moved 
>cff at a double-quirk step. The fight was raging when he 



JOHN F. NEFF. 403 

reached the scene of action, and not knowing the position of 
General Winder's Brigade, he rushed to the front (although 
solicited by other brigade commanders to unite with their bri- 
gades and go into action with them), just in time to unite with 
Major Wheat's Battalion in charging and taking the battery at 
General Lewis's house. The taking of this battery turned the 
tide of battle, and it was only a few minutes before the enemy 
was on a precipitate retreat, vigorously pursued. Colonel 
Neff joined in the pursuit. 

Similar instances might be multiplied exhibiting the fidelity, 
promptitude, and sagacity of the youngest regimental com- 
mander of the Stonewall Brigade. The seven days of battle 
below Richmond had been fought and won, and General T. J. 
Jackson's Corps was ordered to Gordonsville, with reference 
to the military operations of the man whose " headquarters 
were in his saddle." Whilst the army was lying at Gordons- 
ville some misunderstanding occurred between Colonel Neff 
and General Winder, which induced General Winder to place 
him under arrest. General Winder (and it is said to his 
praise) was a most rigid disciplinarian, and dealt with the 
greatest exactitude with all his subordinate officers. Time 
did not permit of an investigation of the matter prior to the 
battle of Cedar Mountain. The question was asked what 
Colonel Neff would do, whilst on the march to Cedar Moun- 
tain, without his sword. Those who knew him best responded 
that he would go into the thickest of the fight with his regi- 
ment. He did so, and his presence with his 'men under such 
circumstances inspired them with an ardor and enthusiasm 
which, perhaps, they had never manifested before in so emi- 
nent a degree. It requires the most genuine courage to with- 
stand a deluging shower of leaden rain and iron hail without 
arms. General Winder, who came, perhaps, nearer to filling 
General Jackson's place as brigade commander than any other, 
fell, mortally wounded, at Cedar Mountain, and the investiga- 
tion of the charges and specifications against Colonel Neff by 
his superior in command proved only a misapprehension of 
orders on the part of Colonel Neff. Cedar Mountain was 



404 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



only the commencement of a campaign which equaled in 
importance and results any other of the war. General Pope 
was forced to take position on the northern side of the Rappa- 
hannock. Whilst there it was that General Jackson made 
that detour in his rear which added additional lustre to his 
fame. Manassas Junction was captured, with its immense 
stores of munitions of war and supplies. Before its evacua- 
tion Colonel Neff was ordered to destroy the rolling-stock 
connected with the railroad, and all the supplies that could 
not be removed for want of transportation. The order was 
promptly executed. The unintermitted marches, together 
with the loss of rest, which continued for consecutive days 
and nights, almost completely prostrated Colonel Neff. He 
applied to the surgeon of the regiment ; and he not only pre- 
scribed for him, but advised at least a temporary suspension 
of the active duties which his position imperiously demanded. 
Colonel Neff could not brook the idea of quitting even tem- 
porarily his position under the circumstances. On the morn- 
ing of the 28th of August, 1862, whilst the brigade, under 
the cover of a wood, was lying in line of battle, anticipating 
an attack, the surgeon voluntarily approached him, examined 
his pulse, and told him that in his condition he should not 
entertain the idea of doing any service that day. He failed 
to extract a promise from him that he would not. It was 
but a short time ere the brigade was ordered to charge, and 
Colonel Neff, as he was wont to do, sprang to his feet, and 
repeated, in his clear, sonorous voice, the word of command 
which came ringing down the line. It was with a shout such 
as the Stonewall Brigade was famous for that the charge was 
made. On approaching a fence, amid a terrific fire of artillery 
and small-arms. Colonel Neff stopped in an exposed position, 
and the writer, in passing him, inquired if he had any orders 
to communicate. He replied, " None ; go to the fence and do 
whatever you may regard as necessary to be done." These 
were the last words that he was ever heard to utter. The 
conflict raged, assault after assault upon the Confederate lines 
were repulsed, and the curtains of night fell upon the scene of 



JOHN F. NEFF. 405 

one of the most sanguinary fields, for the numbers engaged, 
of the war. The inquiry was started, " Where is Colonel 
Neff?" No one could respond satisfactorily to it. Strange 
to tell, was the exclamation, that he was not, as was his habit, 
moving among his troops and cheering them on to duty 
and victory. A match was struck and a candle lighted, and 
he was found in the icy embrace of death just at the spot 
where the writer had passed him. The fearful mystery was 
solved. Though many had fallen, and there were many ex- 
pressions of regret, for none of the fallen heroes of that 
hour were there more heart-felt expressions of sympathy 
and regret than for Colonel John F. Neff. A promise made 
him, and which was mutual in its character, when contem- 
plating the uncertainties of life, had to be fulfilled then and 
there. The living image of her who was nearest his big 
heart must be secured, and the ring which she had placed 
upon his finger had to be taken off, and conveyed as sad me- 
mentos to her of a love and plighted faith which could only 
be quenched or removed by the king of terrors. His remains 
were removed to a grassy spot in the woods from which he 
had made his last charge with his command, and there in- 
terred, in a carefully-marked spot. 

Colonel Neff was prepared for the sudden calamity which 
ushered him into the spiritual and unseen world. He had 
years before dedicated his heart and life to the service of God, 
and had ever thereafter exemplified in life and conversation 
the Christian graces in a high degree of perfection. He died 
not without hope, and entered into that rest which remaineth 
for the people of God. Since the war his affectionate father 
has secured and deposited his remains in the family burying- 
ground. He sleeps beneath the green sod of his own native 
Valley of Virginia the sleep that knows no natural waking. 
Loved ones and friends, who will ever fondly remember him, 
weave affection's garlands for his tomb and scatter affection's 
incense over his ashes. 

Captain David H. Walton. 



406 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



JOHN C. NIEMEYER, 

OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, CO. " I," 9TH VIR- 
GINIA INFANTRY. 

John Chandler Niemeyer, son of William A. and Sarah 
H. Niemeyer, was born in the city of Portsmouth, Virginia, 
on the 5th of October, 1842. Entering the Virginia Military 
Institute on the 26th of July, 1859, ^^ remained until the 
i6th of April, 1861, when, resigning, he entered the service 
of his State as a private in the " Old Dominion Guards," a 
volunteer company of his native city. Captain Edward Kearns, 
then attached to the 3d Virginia Regiment, but afterwards as- 
signed as Co. " K " to the 9th Virginia Regiment, commanded 
by Colonel Francis H. Smith, of the Institute. For his pro- 
ficiency in drill, young Niemeyer was promoted sergeant, and 
as such participated in all the battles around Richmond, and, 
for gallantry displayed in these engagements, was elected first 
lieutenant of Co. " I," in the same regiment. Prior to this he 
had served with his company at Pinner's Point Battery, on 
Norfolk Harbor, remaining here until Huger withdrew from 
Norfolk. In the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 1862, he 
acted with great bravery. After this battle he was constantly 
under picket fire on the York River Railroad, until the attack 
of Jackson on McClellan at Mechanicsville. During the re- 
treat of the Federal army he advanced under General Magru- 
der ; was under fire constantly during the " seven days' " fight, 
and was engaged in the terrific battle of Malvern Hill. After 
being commissioned lieutenant he participated, with Ander- 
son's Division, in the battles of Warrenton Springs, second 
Manassas, Harper's Ferry, Sharpsburg, etc. 

After the battle of Sharpsburg his brigade was transferred 
to Pickett's Division. With this division his career as a sol- 
dier was as noble as ever. He took conspicuous part with 
his regiment at Fredericksburg, and at Suffolk. On the fatal 



JOHN C. NIEMEYER. 407 

field of Gettysburg, July 3, 1863, he was conspicuously brave. 
Three times his brigade halted and was aligned under a gall- 
ing fire. After the last " halt and dress," when the regiment 
began to advance, Lieutenant Niemeyer turned to a comrade 
and brother lieutenant, with a bright smile on his face, and 
said, "John, what a beautiful line!" A few minutes after, he 
fell dead, pierced through the head by a bullet. His body 
was never recovered, but fills one of the many " unknown" 
graves that furrow the hillside at Gettysburg. 

A friend (Lieutenant J. Robinson), speaking of him, says : 
" Lieutenant Niemeyer was universally esteemed by those 
who knew him, and more especially was he endeared to his 
comrades by his uniform kindness and generosity. Bold and 
fearless, he was ever among the foremost in the fray, and, 
with a daring that almost amounted to recklessness, he 
seemed to court danger in the midst of death. Ever mindful 
of others, after the day's fight was done, he could be seen 
eagerly seeking among the dead and dying his own wounded, 
and administering to their comfort." 

A cousin (Judge Hill), in an obituary published in Rich- 
mond soon after his death, says : "As a soldier, he was brave 
on the battle-field ; obedient to the commands of his supe- 
riors ; cheerful on the march, in the camp, or in the bivouac ; 
and discharged his duties with zeal and fidelity. As a man, 
he was a gentleman in the strictest sense of the word. As 
a companion, inestimable and unrivaled, — disdaining deceit, 
generous, magnanimous, intelligent; ever alive to the noblest 
impulses, he lived beloved by all who knew him, — the genial 
sun and centre of his circle, the pride of a devoted father, 
the joy of an affectionate mother. His death has cast a 
gloom over the bright anticipations and fond hopes of his 
many warm and admiring friends. But we have the melan- 
choly satisfaction that he died in the full tide of glory, a 
soldier's death on the field of battle. From the evidence be- 
fore us, we believe that he had given his heart to God ; and 
may we not trust that, when earth shall have passed away, 
and the angel's trump shall have sounded the end of time, we 



408 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

may be united around Jehovah's celestial throne with our 
friend and friends, and, joining in anthems of sweetest praise, 
in tuneful harmony, with saints and angels, ascribe ' glory, 
and honor, and wisdom and power, unto our God for ever 
and ever' ? " 



CHARLES R. NORRIS, 

OF LEESBURG, VIRGINIA; ACTING CAPTAIN, 27TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Charles R. Norris, son of John Norris, of Leesburg, Lou- 
doun County, Virginia, was born on the 1 2th of May, 1844, 
and killed, at the first battle of Manassas, July 21, 1861. 

On the I ith of August, i860, he entered the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute as a cadet from the county of Loudoun, upon the 
nomination of the late General Philip St. George Cocke, of Vir- 
ginia, being the first cadet who entered the Institute upon the 
endowment of that generous and noble-hearted Virginian, an 
appointment most worthily bestowed, as his career at the In- 
stitute, his gallant and manly bearing at the commencement 
of the war, abundantly showed. 

Young Norris, up to the time of his appointment as a 
cadet, lived with his parents in Leesburg, — a quiet, studious, 
manly boy, possessing more than ordinary intelligence, and 
evincing an earnest, determined purpose to acquire a colle- 
giate education and make a man of himself This fondly- 
cherished aim he felt was within his grasp when he received 
his commission as a cadet, and accordingly, with alacrity and 
deep interest, he entered upon his course at that noble institu- 
tion, winning at once for himself the regard and admiration 
of his instructor and fellow-cadets. He was manly, studious, 
kind, courteous, and exemplary in deportment and morals ; he 
was governed by conscience, and never received a single de- 
merit during the whole of his cadetship, for it was his ambi- 
tion well and faithfully to discharge every duty that devolved 



CHARLES R. NORRIS. 



409 



upon him. In the spring of 1861 the war opened, and such a 
band of soldiers as the corps of cadets, each one of them an 
accomphshed officer, was of course at once called into service. 
The corps was ordered to Richmond ; but young Norris, 
being one of the youngest in years and experience, was de- 
tailed, with some forty or fifty" others, to remain as a guard 
to the Institute buildings and State Arsenal at Lexington, 
But his brave and eager spirit was not long to chafe in this 
comparatively idle and inglorious position amidst the startling 
and momentous events then gathering and thickening around 
our beloved old Commonwealth. After a very brief period, he 
and some eight or ten others were ordered to report to Gen- 
eral T. J. Jackson, then commanding the post at Harper's 
Ferry. He was promptly on the spot, and was assigned to 
duty as a drill-master to the volunteers then rushing, all un- 
trained and undisciplined, at the call of their State, to repel 
the ruthless invaders then swarming on our northern borders. 
In the faithful and efficient discharge of the duties of his office 
he remained until the army, under General J. E. Johnston, 
moved to the relief and support of General Beauregard, then 
about to engage the enemy in that first and terrible battle of 
Manassas. Young Norris, though engaged as a drill-master, 
and thus not connected with the organization of any company 
or regiment, sought no exemption from service, but deter- 
mined to go with the army. In the absence of the captain of 
one of the companies in Colonel John Echols's regiment, he 
was assigned to the command of the company. General 
Johnston's army reached the bloody battle-ground in time to 
engage in the thickest of the fight, and to contribute largely 
to that great victory. In this battle, Cadet Charles R. Norris 
lost his life in command of his company, and in advance of his 
men, leading them in a charge with the rallying and encour- 
aging cry, ringing out midst the smoke and din of battle, 
" Couie 071 boys, quick, and %uc can whip thcinf Just uttered, 
he was struck by a ball which took an oblique course across 
his breast, killing him, it is supposed, instantly, although his 
body was not found until the next morning, when, among the 



41 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

dead, mangled, wounded, and dying, it was discovered in a 
search over that ghastly field by an elder brother, who was 
also a soldier in that fight, but passed the battle-storm un- 
harmed, and on many other fields struck manfully to avenge 
the death of that boy soldier and brother. Thus, belonging 
to no company, with his name'not enrolled on any of the lists 
of the honored soldiers who fought and died for the " Lost 
Cause," did Charles R. Norris, only a little over seventeen 
years old, offer up his young life an oblation on the altar of 
his country. 

And now passing along the lone path of the cemetery at 
Leesburg, casting your eye to the right, you there see the 
grass-covered mound that marks the spot where mingles his 
dust with its ancestral earth, — a spot cherished and watered 
by the tears of those who loved him, and upon which flowers 
are strewn when, in each returning May, our noble women 
mark their appreciation of the memory of the dead who died 
for them and the principles which enlisted their sympathies 
and prayers. 

Carlton Shafer. 



JOHN M. OLIVER, 

OF MECKLENBURG COUNTY, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, 2IST VIRGINIA IN- 
FANTRY. 

John Mayo Oliver, son of James Oliver, Esq., of Meck- 
lenburg County, Virginia, was born on the 4th of February, 
1838 ; matriculated at the Virginia Military Institute Septem- 
ber 14, 1856, and graduated on the 4th of July, i860; studied 
law during the next year, at Judge Brockenbrough's school, 
in Lexington, until the beginning of the war, when he raised 
a company of infantry in his native county, and in command 
of this company entered service in the 21st Virginia Infantry, 
commanded by Colonel William Gilham ; in 1862 was trans- 
ferred to the command of General Floyd, in Western Vir- 



JOHN M. OLIVER. 4II 

ginia, and under his order acted for some time as a recruiting 
officer in Tennessee, Western North Carolina, and in the ex- 
treme western counties of Virginia, where his life was often 
imperiled, the Union men having in several instances shot 
balls through his clothes in attempting to kill him. During 
this year Captain Oliver was sent in command of an artillery 
company to assist in checking a raid on the town of Wythe- 
ville, Virginia. Before his arrival the enemy had gotten into 
the town, and were actively engaged with the soldiers and 
citizens. While advancing to get his guns into position, the 
infantry gave way in confusion, and in the ensuing flight 
some of his men deserted their guns. Waving his sword 
above his head, Captain Oliver appealed to them by all that 
was sacred not to forsake their duty ; then, rushing forward 
with a few of his bravest men, he reached the abandoned gun, 
and was endeavoring to open fire with it, when he was sur- 
rounded by the enemy and ordered to surrender. He refused 
at first when ordered by a private, saying he would only sur- 
render to an officer of his own grade. A Federal officer then 
rode up, and addressing him as captain, told him that he was 
so completely overpowered by numbers that it would be folly 
in the extreme for him to make further resistance. Concur- 
ring in this opinion, he surrendered. 

As the Confederates were making a feint, moving the cars 
as if they were receiving heavy reinforcements, Captain Oli- 
ver was closely questioned in regard to the forces, their 
number and position. Refusing to give any information, he 
demanded to be treated as a prisoner of war. Being escorted 
under a guard from the scene of action, as he was walking 
along he was struck by a stray musket-ball, which inflicted a 
mortal wound. Taken under charge by some of the kind 
ladies of Wytheville, who ministered to all his wants, he lin- 
gered a short time, then died. These noble women gratefully 
did what they could to show how they felt that the gallant 
soldier had died in their defense, decorated his coffin with 
flowers, and wrote to his family letters of sincere condolence, 
mingled with their regret at the loss of one who acted so 



412 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

nobly for them and the fatherland. The body, placed under 
the charge of his brave and faithful lieutenant, was conveyed 
to his home in Mecklenburg, and buried in the old family 
burying-ground. As it passed through Lynchburg, the ladies 
of that town, as a mark of respect for his character, regret for 
his sad fate, and sympathy for his relatives in their terrible 
bereavement, placed on the coffin a beautiful little flag, 
worked by their own fair hands. 

Brave, noble, and generous, he went to his account, a 
soldier who had been true to the cause, till death sealed his 
devotion. Not a long time elapsed, and a younger brother, 
William, endowed with like qualities, went to join him, being 
killed at Cedar Run. We of the Southern land will never 
forget the honor we owe our loved dead. 



GEORGE GASTON OTEY, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, " OTEY" BATTERY. 

George Gaston Otey, son of John M. and Lucy W. Otey, 
was born in the city of Lynchburg, May 25, 1834; entered 
the Virginia Military Institute in 185 1 ; resigned and became 
a merchant; entered service as adjutant ist Infantry in 1861 ; 
organized the "Otey" Battery, of which he became captain; 
was wounded at Lewisburg, Virginia, May 24, 1862, and died 
from it, and effects of exposure combined, on the 21st of 
October, 1862. As the best method of making this brief 
outline assume the form of a memoir, and to give a more 
extended estimate of Captain Otey's character and services, 
we insert in full an obituary written by a friend, within a few 
months after his death : 

" It is a saddening reflection, which each succeeding day 
of the present war brings more vividly before us, that whilst 
the noblest spirits of our Confederacy are freely offering their 



GEORGE GASTON OTEY. 



413 



hearts' blood in their country's cause, the foe whom they have 
gone forth to meet is composed chiefly of European mercena- 
ries and the scum of Puritan society, — men who, dying, will 
leave no blessed memories behind. 

" This thought was forcibly impressed upon me when, in 
a far distant State, I heard the sad tidings of the untimely 
death of George Gaston Otey, captain of the ' Otey Bat- 
tery,' of Richmond, Virginia, which occurred in Lynchburg, 
Virginia, October 21, 1862, in the twenty-ninth year of his 
age ; and, as one who knew him well and intimately, from his 
earliest youth through all the successive periods of school- 
life, college-life, and manhood, it may be permitted me to 
offer this tribute to his memory, 

" Born in Lynchburg, of honored and respected parentage, 
he manifested at an early age a great fondness for military 
matters, which, when transferred from the mimic battle- 
field of school-days to the Virginia Military Institute, and 
strengthened and developed by several years' stay at that 
foster-mother of Virginia's young heroes, did much to fit him 
for the more active and stirring duties of actual military life. 

" When the John Brown raid occurred, it found the subject 
of this sketch residing in Richmond, a member of a pros- 
perous business house, and orderly sergeant of the Howitzers, 
then under the efficient command of Hon. George W. Ran- 
dolph. This company was among the first to offer their ser- 
vices to Governor Wise on that occasion, and the promptitude 
with which they obeyed his orders to repair to Charlestown, 
as well as the fidelity with which they discharged the onerous 
duties imposed upon them, during a stay of several weeks at 
that place, proved them to be soldiers in deed as well as in 
name. This short campaign ended, Captain Otey returned to 
the pursuits of peace, and the bosom of his family. 

"At the commencement of the present war he held the 
position of adjutant of the ist' Regiment of Virginia Volun- 
teers, but soon received a commission as second lieutenant in 
the Provisional Army, was assigned to duty on the Penin- 
sula, under General Magruder, and was by him placed upon 



414 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

his staff, and appointed chief ordnance officer. Here he re- 
mained several months, engaged in the arduous duties of his 
place, until his health gave way under the banefuF influence 
of exposure to the sickening climate, and he was forced to 
remain at home about six months, in a very feeble state of 
health, during which period he obtained, unsolicited, an ap- 
pointment as first lieutenant of infantry in the regular army 
of the Confederate States. 

" In the month of February, 1862, he undertook the forma- 
tion of an artillery company in the city of Richmond, of 
which, upon its organization, he was unanimously honored 
with the captaincy, and his name, alike unanimously, conferred 
upon the company, which it is no unjust praise to say is one 
of the finest in the service. It was immediately ordered to 
the command of General Heth, in Southwest Virginia. In 
the battles of Giles Court-House, Princeton, and Lewisburg 
it bore a prominent part, and, in the last of these engage- 
ments, Captain Otey was painfully though not dangerously 
wounded. Hastening home to his family, he allowed himself 
but a few weeks' respite from duty, and, against the advice of 
physicians and friends, returned to his post before his wound 
had healed, so anxious was he to be once more with his men, 
and so solicitous for their comfort. 

" During the past summer his company, in common with 
all of General Loring's command, remained near the Salt 
Sulphur ; but about the last of August they were ordered for- 
ward to the Kanawha Valley, and it was during this expedi- 
tion that the battles of Montgomery's Ferry, Charleston, and 
Fayette Court-House occurred, in all of which the Otey Bat- 
tery was engaged, and in the last named of which it suffered 
severely, having no less than twenty men killed and wounded. 
Shortly after his arrival at Charleston, Captain Otey felt the 
first warnings of that visitor — carbuncle on the spine — whose 
presence was to cause him inexpressible agony for weeks, 
and finally to close his mortal career. This affection was 
doubtless superinduced in great part by his constant and ex- 
hausting labors in the saddle for some weeks previously, and 



GEORGE GASTON OTEY. 



415 



it was not until his nervous system was completely unstrung 
by suffering that he could be induced to quit his duties in the 
field, and take an adieu, alas ! final, of his fond command. 

" From the moment that he set out upon his homeward 
journey, a sad presentiment of coming death seemed to hang 
about him. For one hundred and fifty miles, over a mountain 
road, in an ambulance, did he drag his weary way, before 
reaching the railroad which was to convey to his loved ones 
his sadly altered self So much had suffering and fatigue 
worn upon him that, on. reaching Lynchburg (where his 
family were), some of the closest relatives failed to recognize 
him. All that fondest love and medical skill could devise to 
effect a cure was done, but in vain. He had indeed but 
' come home to die.' In less than four days from the time 
when he was borne beneath the maternal roof, a helpless suf- 
ferer, he lay there a silent corpse. On the morning of Tues- 
day, October 21, he sank calmly, quietly to rest, peacefully as 
his loved infant boy had passed away before his eyes but little 
more than a short twelvemonth previously. 

" Thus did Virginia bring another of her sons to swell the 
long list of sacrifices which she had already offered on her 
country's altar. Thus was another name added to the lengthy 
roll of victims. 

" The earnest, heartfelt resolutions passed by his company 
on the occasion of his death ; the sounds of sympathetic sor- 
row which have come up from the members of that com- 
pany ; the tender condolences of brother officers ; and the 
saddened visages of friends and acquaintances, all bear testi- 
mony to the worth of Captain Otey in the outer world. But 
we cannot fully realize the loss sustained till we lift the cur- 
tain which conceals from view the broken family circle, and 
behold the aching void created by the absence of a dutiful, 
obedient son ; a fond brother, ever ready to give the word of 
good counsel; a doting father, willing to 'spend and be 
spent ' for the lovely little prattlers scarce able to lisp his 
name, and not able to know or feel their loss ; and a devoted 
husband, with whom the business of life was to cast sunshine 



41 6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

along the pathway of as fond a wife as ever breathed, and to 
sustain and cherish her in hfe's pilgrimage, 

" Mourners, ' weep not as those without hope,' for though 
your loved dead one was not a member of the Church of 
Christ, you have every reason to believe that that life which, 
though ever gay and cheerful, was never dissipated and blas- 
phemous, but ever respectful to the gospel, and which never 
allowed even the stern duties of camp to prevent the daily 
bowing of the head in prayer, has culminated in eternal hap- 
piness ! Blessed thought ! that, when * life's fitful fever' is 
over, the scattered flowers of that withered family wreath, the 
widowed wife, the orphaned daughters, may meet the de- 
parted husband and brother in that happy clime whose life- 
giving atmosphere shall forever resound with the joyful 
praises of an united household, freed from sin and saved for 
evermore ! J, 



WILLIAM K. PARK, 

OF JACKSON COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, ENGINEERS, P. A. C. S. 

William K. Park, eldest son of Robert Park, Esq., and 
Isabella Kirk, his wife, was born in Ripley, Jackson County, 
Virginia, on the 31st day of July, 1840. His father was for 
many years surveyor of Jackson County, and afterwards a 
magistrate in the same county. 

William during his childhood attended school at Ravens- 
wood, a village on the Ohio River, near his father's residence. 
Here he made excellent progress, and gave evidence of strong 
mental power. In July, 1857, in his seventeenth year, he 
entered the Virginia Military Institute. At the end of the 
first year he was at the head of his class in mathematics, and 
ranged fourth on general merit. This stand he kept until 
he graduated, in May, 1861. Immediately after this date he 
was commissioned second lieutenant, and ordered to report to 
Colonel (afterwards General) John McCausland, at Buffalo, on 



WILLIAM K. PARK. 



417 



the Great Kanawha River ; here he aided as drill-master and 
adjutant of the post. He was also engaged in the construction 
of the fortifications at the narrows of New River, in Giles 
County, having charge of them in fact, and showing great 
skill in locating and constructing them. 

During the winter of 186 1-2, Lieutenant Park took advan- 
tage of a furlough to study law, and worked at it so energeti- 
cally that he was enabled to stand his examination, and was 
licensed to practice in March, 1862. The opening of the 
spring necessitated a return to military duty. Shortly after 
reporting for duty, he was transferred from McCausland's 
command to that of General A, G. Jenkins, having been com- 
missioned second lieutenant of cavalry, and served on his staff 
for eight or ten months. 

In 1863, just after the dreadful battle of Gettysburg, in 
which Lieutenant Park participated, he was assigned to the 
17th Virginia Cavalry. In November, 1864, he was commis- 
sioned second lieutenant of engineers, and ordered to report 
to Major-General Whiting, commanding at Wilmington, 
North Carolina. At this stirring point of his new labors he 
remained until after the fall of Fort P^isher, being intrusted 
with many important duties, all of which he performed intelli- 
gently and faithfully. From Wilmington he was ordered to 
Weldon, to aid in perfecting the fortifications at that place. 
When Weldon was evacuated, about the middle of April, 
1865, he was ordered to Raleigh, thence to Haw River, 
Greensboro', and finally was sent with a small force to the 
defense of a bridge about twelve miles from Greensboro'. 
While on duty at this point he was attacked with chronic 
diarrhcea, and after a painful illness, died on the 5th of May, 
1865, in the twenty-fifth year of his age. 

Serving through the whole war, from its very beginning, 
and laying down his life just after the bitter end had come, 
Lieutenant Park left a record well worthy of high praise. 
Never absent from duty, and even when the inclemency of 
winter permitted his being at home, improving himself by 
study, in a quiet, unobtrusive way he won his title, " True 

27 



41 8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. ' 

man and soldier." The Christian teachings of his loving and 
loved mother bore also fruit, and added that third character- 
istic necessary for the complete man, — a deep conviction of 
the truth of Christia,nity, and an earnest, faithful practice of its 
principles. 

In concluding this memoir, a few quotations from the letters 
of those with whom he was associated will not be amiss. 
General McCausland, his first commander, says, " I can bear 
testimony to his zeal and perseverance in the cause, though 
his health was delicate the most of the time he served under 
my orders." Colonel Henry Fitzhugh writes to his father as 
follows : " Both General Jenkins and myself took great interest 
in your son William, and always received a most favorable 
account of his usefulness and merit. His life was certainly 
one of high, disinterested devotion to the cause he had 
espoused, and I never heard him propose preferment for 
himself, or employment even, except for the advantage of the 
army and the cause. In his diligent and sincere loyalty he 
lost his life, and his comrades regret his loss without having 
a single blemish of character to remember or forgive. For so 
young a man, his service was rendered with a conspicuous 
earnestness which placed his character high even among a 
very elevated set of associates, and I know of no one whom I 
would have chosen in preference to him as a true friend, a good 
soldier, and a valuable man." 

Lieutenant Otho K. Pate (afterwards an Episcopal minister, 
and now in 'his grave, from disease contracted in similar ex- 
posure to that which cut off the life of the friend over whose 
death he mourned), in a letter to Major J. W. Sweeny, after 
the war, says, — 

" I .am deeply pained that the parents of our common friend, 
Lieutenant Park, have not received any tidings of him since 
the war. Early in the winter of 1:864, Park received a com- 
mission as lieutenant of engineers, and was ordered to report 
for duty to Major-General Whiting. We corresponded at in- 
tervals. The last letter I received from him was written soon 
after the first attempt to capture Wilmington, I feel deeply 



WILLIAM K. PARK. 



419 



grieved, not only on account of the sorrow of his parents, but 
on my own, for he was a dear friend of mine, one to whom I 
ever felt strangely attached, owing to his delicate health, which 
prevented him, in a great measure, from attaining to that suc- 
cess which his merit deserved. Had he been strong and 
robust, I feel sure his career would have been brilliant. He 
certainly stood high in the opinion of the authorities of the 
engineering department at Richmond. The assistant engi- 
neer-in-chief told me that his letters and recommendations 
were in every way of high order, and would certainly obtain 
for him (as soon as opportunity occurred) a commanding 
position." 

The touching friendship that existed between these two 
young lieutenants, who served their country in like capacities 
and in the same command; who both, weak in body, were 
strong in soul ; who, fighting hand in hand in the life of earth, 
soon clasped hands again in the peace of the life of heaven; is 
one bright instance of those episodes of camp-life so in con- 
trast to its hardships and trials, that they seemed as if vouch- 
safed to make it endurable. When they parted, Park said, 
" Not a ripple of envy or unkindness has ever broken over that 
placid surface of the ocean of our friendship;" and Pate, when 
he heard of his death, " I have clung to the hope that we 
should meet again to grasp each other's hand in the warm and 
cordial greeting of yore, and together recall the stirring asso- 
ciations that had linked our hearts and made us one ; but God, 
the Almighty Father of us all, has taken him to Himself." 

Many others, friends, comrades, and acquaintances, testify 
to the naanly worth and character of Lieutenant Park ; not 
the least touching proof of it being in the tender solicitude 
with which his servant, Avery, watched by his bedside in his 
last illness. Only a hired servant, he had become so attached 
by the genial qualities of his master as to devote himself night 
and day to doing what he could to alleviate the intense bodily 
anguish of the suffering soldier. 

Lieutenant Park was buried in the cemetery at Salisbury, 
North Carolina. 



420 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



WILLIAM S. PARRAN, M.D., 

OF ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; SURGEON, COURTNEY'S BATTALION 
ARTILLERY, A. N. V. 

The ardent love of country which prompted so many of 
Virginia's noble sons to offer their lives in defense of her 
rights, when, by reason of age or position, they could easily 
and honorably have kept out of danger, gives intensified 
lustre to one of the brightest jewels in the coronet, rich and 
weighty, that encircles the brow of the noble old mother 
State. Spurred on by patriotic ardor, the heroic soul chafes 
under restraint or confinement, and, breaking its bonds, rushes 
to the fray to conquer or die. So he whose brief story we 
are now to tell gave up his life. 

William Sellman Parran, son of Dr. N. D, Parran, was 
born in Hardy County, West Virginia, on the 8th of June, 
1834. At the age of eighteen he entered the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, reporting for duty on the 24th of July, 1852. 
After being here a short time, he received an appointment as 
cadet in the United States Military Academy, and went to 
West Point, but did not remain to graduate. After his return 
to Virginia, he studied medicine privately with his uncle. Dr. 
G. A. Williams, of Moorefield, Hardy County, then entered 
the medical college in Winchester, where he graduated. 
Going thence to the University of Maryland, he graduated 
there, and in 1859 or i860 went to Orange County, Virginia, 
and commenced the practice of medicine. Settling in Barbour- 
ville, his kind and affectionate disposition, frank and social 
manners, soon won him many warm friends, and got him into 
a first-rate practice. In i860 he married Miss Jennie Graves, 
of Orange County ; but his life of married happiness was not 
to be long. On the 17th of April, 1861, the Governor of Vir- 
ginia called out her volunteers. Dr. Parran had raised, in 
the neighborhood of Barbourville, a company of artillery, of 



WILLIAM S. PARRAN, M.D. 421 

which he had been chosen captain. Responding promptly to 
the call, he reported at Harper's Ferry with his company in a 
few days, the second company on the ground. While captain 
of this company he was in much hard service, encountered 
many privations, and was in many hard-fought battles and 
picket fights. When his company was assigned to Courtney's 
Battalion he was promoted surgeon, and served as such till 
the day of his death. At the battle of Sharpsburg, September 
17, 1862, moved by the spirit of which we have spoken in our 
opening paragraph, he volunteered to assist, as a common 
soldier, at the guns of one of the batteries. That evening he 
was killed ; offering his country generous aid, he sealed his 
offer with his life-blood. He left an amiable wife and a 
daughter ; and some two months after his death a son was 
born to him. 

Dr. Parran was ever an affectionate and dutiful son, a de- 
voted husband and parent, a true friend, and an unswerving 
patriot. His genial social nature, his frank and manly quali- 
ties, made for him, wherever he went, hosts of friends, in 
whose memories and affections he has a monument to his 
honor more enduring and more to be coveted than brass or 
marble. 

A friend, in the Central Presbyterian of November 6, 1862, 
says of him: " He was never backward in offering and render- 
ing services whenever and wherever he thought they were 
needed and would be accepted; he lost his valuable life while 
nobly working at another's battery, to which he had offered 
his services. He was a tender and affectionate father, and 
left a fond and devoted wife and a darling little daughter to 
mourn his untimely death. May the widow's God be her 
God, and a father to her fatherless !" 



422 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



GEORGE S. PATTON, 

OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 22D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Colonel George S. Patton fell mortally wounded at the 
battle of Winchester, June 19, 1864. A few days he lingered. 
In this interval the hope of recovery was inspired and sus- 
tained by the opinion of his surgeon that his wound, though 
serious, was not mortal. A part of the last day of his life he 
was alone in his chamber. Cheerful, even buoyant, no fears 
were felt that a few brief hours would close his earthly course. 
A later visit to his chamber disclosed a great change, and 
warned his friends that death had sealed him for his own. A 
few words, unintelligible to the kind ones who ministered to 
him, escaped his lips, and his voice was hushed forever. 

George Smith Patton, fourth son of the late honored John 
M. Patton, was born in Fredericksburg, Virginia, June 26, 
1833. Subsequently removed with his parents to Richmond, 
where he was in part educated and fitted to enter the Virginia 
Military Institute, in which he was a cadet from 1849 until 
1852, being a distinguished graduate of the large class of the 
latter year. 

Returning to Richmond, he spent the two following years 
in teaching. The hours not devoted to teaching were spent 
in the study of law. After his admission to the bar, he re- 
moved to Charleston, Kanawha County, and entered upon the 
practice of his profession. This he pursued with marked suc- 
cess, till the clarion notes of war began to ring through the 
land. The plot discovered at Harper's Ferry was to him the 
signal to prepare for the conflict which he had long been 
taught to expect. With the energy which ever distinguished 
him, he organized a company, and soon the Kanawha Rifle- 
men were known as among the most thoroughly disciplined 
of our volunteer soldiery. 

Quick to perceive that his country would need her sons, 



GEORGE S. PATTON. 423 

Captain Patton offered early in 1861 the services of himself 
and men. His first battle was at Scary, General Wise being 
then in command of the forces of Western Virginia, with 
headquarters at Charleston, Captain Patton commanding the 
advance fifteen miles below. 

Here he fought and won, but paid the price of victory in a 
severe and, as was feared, mortal wound. A few days after, he 
fell into the hands of the enemy. Released from imprison- 
ment, and rapidly passing the intervening grades, he was 
promoted to the colonelcy of the 22d Virginia Regiment of 
Infantry. 

This he commanded at the battle of Giles Court-House, 
where he was again wounded. He commanded the brigade at 
the battle of Dry Creek, August, 1863, where superior forces 
under General Averill were again and again repulsed, and 
finally compelled to retreat, blockading their rear to prevent 
pursuit. 

At Droop Mountain, Colonel Patton likewise fought with 
conspicuous gallantry. During four months of this campaign 
(1864) he commanded the brigade; and from New Market to 
Cold Plarbor, from Lynchburg to Winchester, where he was 
killed, set an illustrious example of patriotic devotion to duty 
by faithfully performing his own. The deeds of such a man 
form a not unfaithful index to his character; still, this brief 
record would be incomplete without more particular allusion 
to the traits which distinguished him. His various and accu- 
rate learning revealed talents of a high order and of unusual 
versatility. To concentrate his thought upon the subject 
before him was natural and easy, — not a laborious and pain- 
ful exercise. Rapidly scanning the page, his eye would as 
quickly transfer to his mind whatever of value it contained. 
Preferring the profession of law to any other business, and the 
sanctities of home and family to all other pleasures, he had, 
nevertheless, peculiar aptitude for a soldier's duty and a sol- 
dier's life. He enforced discipline without exciting dislike, and 
commanded his men without diminishing their self-respect. 
No private was ever denied the pleasure of conversation with 



424 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



his commander, and a courteous reception awaited all who 
chose to visit his quarters. When duty compelled him to 
deny a request, it was done with such evident reluctance, or 
with such kindliness of manner, that refusal gave less pain 
than is often suffered when a favor is granted with roughness, 
or unwillingly. 

Colonel Patton appreciated the soldiers of our army as vol- 
unteers fighting in a sacred cause, and commanded their ad- 
miration while he won their love. Graceful and elegant as a 
speaker, he was the charm of the social circle, where his genial 
wit, sparkling humor, ready repartee, and ringing laugh made 
him ever welcome. He seemed never to forget what he had 
once learned, and could at will produce the choicest senti- 
ments of the poets for the young and gay, or draw from the 
accumulations of more severe study matter to delight the 
grave and thoughtful. 

Divine things he reverenced, and by example encouraged 
officers and men to wait upon God in His house. From the 
camp chapel he was seldom absent, and furnished to the chap- 
lain of his regiment every facility for the accomplishment of 
his work. We dare not intrude upon that private grief with 
which a stranger intermeddleth not. The mourning widow 
and the fatherless children can only be commended to the 
Father of the fatherless, and the Husband of the bereaved. 
All we may add is, that sorrowing men who have suffered 
much and witnessed the fall of many comrades in arms say, 
as they speak of their lamented colonel, — 

" We ne'er shall look upon his like again." 



IV. TAZEWELL PATTON. 425 

W. TAZEWELL PATTON, 

OF FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 7TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Colonel Waller Tazewell Patton was born in Fredericks- 
burg, Virginia, on the 15th of July, 1835, and died in the Col- 
lege Hospital at Gettysburg, on the 21st of July, 1863, in the 
twenty-ninth year of his age, from a wound received in the 
terrible battles of the first three days of July. He was the 
fifth son of the late John Mercer Patton, of Richmond, on his 
father's side a great-grandson of General Hugh Mercer, the 
hero of Princeton, and on the side of his mother descended 
from Major John Williams and Captain Philip Slaughter, 
officers of the American Revolution, who fought at Brandy- 
wine and Germantown. Three streams of Revolutionary 
blood thus met in his veins, and were poured out on the 
same soil which had drunk in that of his ancestors. In his 
seventeenth year he entered the Virginia Military Institute, and 
graduated with distinction July 4, 1855. During the session 
after his graduation he was assistant professor of Latin in 
the Military Institute. Taking up the study of law there, he 
qualified himself, and was admitted to practice in Culpeper 
County. Soon after locating himself here he was chosen to 
command a company of " minute men," so named after a 
famous company raised by his ancestors in this county during 
the war of the Revolution. At the first mutterings of the storm 
which was so soon to burst with such fury upon the South, 
Captain Patton repaired with his company to Harper's Ferry, 
and took an active part in the measures which inaugurated 
the war. He was soon promoted to the rank of major, and 
in that capacity elicited the commendation of the commanding 
general for his conduct at the first battle of Manassas. He 
rose to be lieutenant-colonel early in 1862, and was elected at 
the reorganization, colonel of the 7th Regiment of Virginia 
Infantry, a veteran regiment which played a distinguished 



426 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

part in all the campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia. 
Colonel Patton was engaged in the battle of Williamsburg, 
the dreadful battles around Richmond, and in the various 
movements terminating in the second battle of Manassas, in 
which he was severely wounded. He was not able to take 
the field again until the Suffolk expedition, under General 
Longstreet, when, expecting active service, he rejoined his 
command. In the absence of official documents we forbear 
to speak of his conduct in the battles subsequent to the first 
Manassas, except to say that among his comrades and friends 
he was credited with uniform gallantry and efficiency. He 
was with General Longstreet in his Suffolk campaign, and 
was soon after elected to the Senate of Virginia by a large 
majority over the old incumbent, without visiting the district 
during the canvass, or being present at the election. This was 
a high honor for one so young and inexperienced in affairs of 
State. Instead of retiring from the field and reposing upon 
his honors, he followed General Lee in his Maryland cam- 
paign, culminating in the battle of Gettysburg, where he fell, 
at the head of his regiment, in that heroic and desperate 
charge which has made Pickett's Division immortal and won 
for it the crown of martyrdom. Providentially, a near rela- 
tive, a man of clear head and calm judgment, was with him, 
from whom we learn the interesting incidents of his last days. 
It is gratifying to know that he was nursed by a Baltimore 
lady with as much tenderness as if she had been his sister, 
and that even the Federal officers were kind to him. Being 
wounded in the mouth, he could only communicate with his 
friends by writing on a slate. The prominent thoughts of his 
mind seem to have been his Saviour, his mother, and his 
country. In a letter to his mother, written a few days before 
his death, he says, " My sufferings and hardships during two 
weeks that I was kept out in the field-hospital were very great. 
I assure you that it was the greatest consolation, whilst lying 
in pain on the cold, damp ground, to look up to that God to 
whom you so constantly directed my thoughts in infancy and 
boyhood, and feel that I was His son by adoption. When 



W. TAZEWELL PATTON. 



427 



friends are far away, and you are in sickness and sorrow, how 
delightful to be able to contemplate the wonderful salvation 
unfolded in the Bible ! Whilst I have been very far from 
being a consistent Christian, I have never let go my hope in 
Jesus, and find it inexpressibly dear now. I write these things 
to show you my spiritual condition, and to ask your prayers 
continually for me." Again he said, " Tell my mother that I 
am about to die in a foreign land ; but I cherish the same 
intense affection for her as ever." The Federal officers who 
saw what he had written seemed astonished at the phrase 
foreign land as applied to Pennsylvania. He told the lady 
who nursed him that though he was "a young man, and 
prized life," he would " cheerfully lay down fifty lives in such 
a cause if necessary." He requested that a lock of his hair 
might be sent to his mother, and his watch to his sister; gave 
directions about some small debts, and expressed a great 
desire that his body might be sent home. His relative who 
was by his side says, " He was aware of the approach of death, 
and met it as became a soldier and a Christian. He said, ' My 
trust is in the merits of Christ; my all is intrusted to Him,' 
and often repeated these words, ' In Christ alone perfectly 
resigned.' When he became too weak to write, he tried to 
repeat the hymn ' Rock of Ages, cleft for me.' His friend 
read the hymn, and he tried to repeat it after him. He then 
called upon the chaplain, Mr, Morton, of the 33d Virginia (I 
think), to read the 14th chapter of St. John. After prayer, he 
called us all to his bedside, and shook hands with us, one by 
one. He retained to the last the utmost patience under his 
sufferings, and expressed his gratitude for every little service 
rendered him, by taking us by the hand." And thus he fell 
asleep in Jesus, amid the tears of all around him, including 
some Federal officers. His body was embalmed, and now 
lies in a vault in Baltimore until other times and other men 
will permit its removal to his native land. His soul enjoys 
perpetual rest and peace. God grant that we who survive 
may so live that we may meet him in that better land where 
there is no war, and where God will wipe away all our tears ! 



428 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE VIRGINIA SENATE ON THE DEATH 
OF SENATOR W. T, PATTON. 

Mr. Newman, of Madison, offered the following preamble and resolu- 
tions, which were read : 

" The death of Colonel W. Tazewell Patton, Senator-elect from the 
27th District, on the 21st of July, 1863, near Gettysburg, calls upon the 
Senate of Virginia for the utterance of its testimony to the virtues of the 
distinguished dead. 

" He was cut down in the prime of manhood, another victim of this 
cruel war. At its commencement, he left the bar, of which he was a 
promising member, to take part in the defense of his outraged country. 
He rose from the rank of captain, to that of colonel of the 7th Virginia 
Regiment. He was wounded in the second battle of Manassas, and as 
soon as he was restored returned to the field. He fell, mortally wounded, 
whilst gallantly leading his brave regiment m the memorable charge of 
Pickett's Division at Gettysburg, and died, as in the moment of death he 
expressed it, ' in a foreign land,' because the land of the enemy of the 
Confederacy. 

" He was a descendant of a Revolutionary ancestry, — of that General 
Mercer who sacrificed his life on the altar of independence, at Princeton, 
and of that Captain Philip Slaughter illustrious for his services as a sol- 
dier and the father of a heroic family. When dying, Colonel Patton 
said (worthily of such a lineage), that had he fifty lives he would freely 
offer them in such a cause. When speechless, in answer to an inquiry 
whether he was prepared to die, he nobly responded, in writing, that he 
had given his body to his country and his soul to his God, and was pre- 
pared to meet his fate. Let the voice of this youthful patriot speak from 
his grave to his bleeding country, hope in this struggle, and dissipate for- 
ever the gloom of despair. 

" Though he had never taken his seat in this body, the Senate of Vir- 
ginia mourns the loss of one whose association in its councils promised 
so much for the success of its measures. His burning patriotism would 
have warmed its devoted zeal, and the experience of his clear and manly 
intellect would have lent wisdom to its deliberations for the good of the 
country. Therefore be it resolved by the Senate of Virginia, — 

" I. That the Senate deplores with the widowed mother of Colonel 
Patton his premature death, and tender her the sympathies of the 
Senate and of the Commonwealth in the loss of her patriotic son, whose ' 
Christianity made him a hero in the shock of battle, and whose faith 
sustained him in the hour of death. 

"2. That a copy of this preamble and resolutions be sent by the 
President of the Senate to Mrs. Patton. 



JV. TAZEWELL PATTON. 



429 



" 3. That as a mark of respect for his memory the Senate do now 
adjourn." 

Eloquent speeches were made by Mr. Ball, of Loudoun, Mr. Chris- 
tian, of Augusta, Mr, Dulaney, and Mr. Randolph. After which the 
preamble and resolutions were unanimously adopted, and the Senate 
adjourned. 

It is deemed proper to close this very imperfect memoir by 
inserting the following lines. They were cut from a news- 
paper by Colonel Patton, while lying wounded in the hospi- 
tal at Gettysburg, and handed by him to a lady, it is thought 
to be sent to his mother: 

"DYING SOLDIER'S FAREWELL. 

" On the field of battle, mother, 

All the night alone I lay, 
Angels watching o'er me, mother, 

Till the breaking of the day. 
I lay thinking of you, mother, 

And the loving ones at home, 
Till to our dear cottage, mother. 

Boy again, I seemed to roam. 

" He to whom you taught me, mother, 

On my infant knee to pray, 
Kept my heart from fainting, mother. 

When the vision passed away. 
In the gray of morning, mother. 

Comrades bore me to the town, 
From my bosom, tender fingers 

Washed the blood that trickled down. 

" I must soon be going, mother. 

Going to the home of rest; 
Kiss me, as of old, my mother, 

Press me nearer to your breast. 
Would I could repay you, mother. 

For your faithful love and care I 
God uphold and bless you, mother. 

In the bitter woe you bear! 

" Kiss for me my little brother, 
Kiss my sister, loved so wellj 



430 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



When you sit together, mother, 
Tell them how their brother fell. 

Tell to them the story, mother. 
When I sleep beneath the sod, 

That I died to save my country, 
All from love to her and God ! 

«' Leaning on the merit, mother, 
Of the One who died for all, 
Peace is in my bosom, mother, 
Hark, I hear the angels call ! 
Don't you hear them singing, mother ? 

Listen to the music's swell ! 
Now I leave you, loving mother: 
God be with you; fare you well !" 



EDMUND PENDLETON, 

OF CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; LIEUTENANT, CO. " C," IITH VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

Edmund Pendleton was born at Fairfield, Clarke County, 
Virginia, October 4, 1843. In the fall of i860 he entered the 
Virginia Military Institute, at Lexington, and remained until 
the following spring, when he was ordered to Winchester to 
drill the troops rapidly collecting at that point. After per- 
forming his duties at this post for some time, he obtained 
permission to join General Pendleton's battery, the " Rock- 
bridge Artillery," then stationed at Manassas, being anxious 
for an opportunity to participate in the expected battle. After 
remaining with this command for a few weeks, upon General 
Pendleton's advice he returned to the Institute, and pursued 
his studies until the corps was ordered out to take part in the 
battle of McDowell, early in 1862. After participating in this 
battle, he connected himself temporarily with Ashby's Cav- 
alry, and served with them until the return of his brother, 
Captain John R. Pendleton, from Fort Delaware, in Septem- 



EDMUND PENDLETON. 



431 



ber, 1862. He then enlisted as a private in Captain Pendle- 
ton's company (Co. " C," nth Virginia Cavalry). 

In February, 1863, the nth Regiment met and routed the 
13th Pennsylvania Cavalry, taking about one hundred and 
forty prisoners. In this engagement Edmund Pendleton 
displayed such gallantry that he was unanimously chosen 
third lieutenant of his company. Soon after this, General 
William E. Jones made his memorable raid into Western 
Virginia, and in its numerous skirmishes and hard service 
Lieutenant Pendleton did his part well. Returning to the 
Valley, his command was ordered to Culpeper, and joined 
General Stuart near Brandy Station, at which place was 
fought the largest cavalry battle of the war, early in June, 
1863. In this engagement he fought with distinction. His 
next battle was the cavalry fight in Loudoun County, between 
Paris and Upperville, in which several balls passed through 
his clothes. 

In the Maryland and Pennsylvania campaign of this year 
Lieutenant Pendleton was engaged at Gettysburg, Boones- 
borough, and Hagerstown, and in frequent skirmishes on the 
retreat, being often put in command of companies and select 
detachments to act as rear-guards, covering the retreat and 
making sudden dashes upon the enemy. In these skirmishes 
he would often take as many prisoners as there were men in 
his command. At the severe engagement of Jack's Shop, he 
led the brigade sharpshooters, opening the attack upon the 
enemy. During the course of this battle his ammunition gave 
out, and he resorted to the novel expedient of ordering his 
men to fight with stones, which were plentiful on the field. 
Himself setting the example, his men quickly obeyed, and 
they succeeded in the assault. When asked why he resorted 
to this plan, he replied that no body of men could stand 
under the fire to which they were exposed without being en- 
gaged in some way. The sound good sense and coolness of 
this, evidences his capacity as a soldier. 

In the spring of 1864 Lieutenant Pendleton went with 
General Rosser's command to Orange County, then to Spott- 



432 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



sylvania, and was killed at the head of his company on the 
6th of May, while urging his comrades to charge. Not 
quite twenty-one years old, he fell honored and loved by his 
comrades, trusted by his officers. When General Rosser 
heard of his death, he remarked that he had lost a most 
promising officer, and, in writing to his father after the war, 
speaks of him thus : 

" Lieutenant Edmund Pendleton was a soldier of rare ac- 
quirements ; his willingness, vigilance, promptness, courage, 
and devotion had already designated him one of the gems 
which adorned the brow of the ephemeral nation. But it was 
not permitted him to survive the cause he so gallantly de- 
fended, and on the 6th of May, 1864, he fell in the battle of 
the Wilderness, while nobly fighting at the head of his regi- 
ment." 

Among other officers by whom he was selected for special 
service, — Generals Jackson, Hampton, and W. E. Jones, — he 
was in like manner esteemed as a soldier and gentleman. An 
immediate superior, Lieutenant-Colonel M. D. Ball, in writing 
of an old flag of the nth, says, — 

" Had its worn threads a voice, they could feelingly tell 
How Kirby, and Spiker, and Pendleton fell." 

Yes, his comrades felt that his name was worthy to be in- 
scribed on their banner, as a brave, true-hearted man and 
officer. 



O. C. PETWAY, 

OF NORTH CAROLINA ; COLONEL, 35TH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Cadet O. C. Petway entered the Virginia Military Institute 
in September, i860, in his nineteenth year; entered military 
service in April, 1861, with the corps of cadets, at Camp Lee, 
Richmond ; was a drill-master for some months, then elected 
major 35th North Carolina Infantry; promoted lieutenant- 



WILLIAM C. PRESTON. 433 

colonel and finally colonel of his regiment, and served with 
it with distinguished gallantry, until killed while leading it in 
a charge in one of the battles around Richmond, June, 1862. 

Colonel Petway was an orphan, and it has been found im- 
possible to reach any of his friends who could tell more of 
his life. Yet the distinguished position he had attained, not 
yet having arrived at the years of manhood, make it evident 
that he was no ordinary man. In the short space of one year 
he rose from a cadetship to the position of regimental com- 
mander, and this, too, at a period in the war when such 
offices were almost invariably held by older men. This is an 
evidence of his ability ; his conduct on the field of battle, in 
the campaigns of 1861-62, of his soldierly qualities; and his 
death, of his patriotism. 



WILLIAM C. PRESTON, 

OF LEXINGTON, VIRGINIA. 

William C. Preston, son of Colonel John T. L. Preston, 
professor in the Virginia Military Institute, became a cadet 
in January, 1862, and a {q:\v weeks afterwards entered military 
service with the corps of cadets in the expedition under Gen- 
eral Jackson against Milroy. He behaved with great gallantry 
at the battle of Cedar Run, March, 1862, and, continuing in 
service as a volunteer cadet, was mortally wounded at the 
second battle of Manassas, August 28, 1862, and died the 
following day, not having reached his nineteenth birthday. 

It is not easy to crowd into a paragraph any words that 
could give an adequate idea of the rare perfection and sym- 
metry that marked the life of this brave boy. Personally, he 
was noticeable for great beauty of countenance and fine phys- 
ical development. He had a feminine gentleness that united 
with it a will that was dauntless. From his childhood his 

28 



434 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



filial devotion to his father (he lost his mother early) had in 
it something chivalrous. His manliness, his truthfulness, his 
unswerving integrity, his deep religious sense of duty, his 
practical skill in conducting whatever might be intrusted to 
his hands, his magnetic cheerfulness, and his beautiful self- 
renunciation, all combined to make him almost the idol of 
his home. General Jackson (Stonewall) always manifested 
a peculiar fondness for him. In one of his letters to Colonel 
Preston, in speaking of William, he said : " From my knowl- 
edge of his high qualities, I hope for an opportunity of show- 
ing my appreciation of his great worth." And writing to 
another member of the family, after the short, bright life had 
so suddenly closed, he adds : " I deeply sympathize with you 
all in the death of dear Willie. He was in my first Sabbath- 
school class, where I became attached to him when he was a 
little boy. I had expected to have him as one of my aids-de- 
camp ; but God in his providence has ordered otherwise." 

He died as bravely as he had lived. Alone (so far as 
friends were concerned), and surrounded by faces he had 
never seen before, he suffered one day of mortal agony, with 
the same high-hearted serenity that had been one of his 
crowning characteristics, and with the overpowering filial 
love which had been his master-passion, still uppermost in his 
thoughts. Two messages only came back to his smitten 
home from the field-hospital where he breathed his last : 
" Tell my father that I am not afraid to die." " I am at peace 
with God, and at peace with all the world." 



GEORGE S. PRICE.— WILLIAM H. RANDOLPH. 



435 



GEORGE S. PRICE, 

OF FINCASTLE, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " C," 2D VIRGINIA CAVALRY. 

George S. Price, son of Mrs. E. Price, was born in Fin- 
castle, Virginia, in 1 85 1. In September, 1829, became a cadet 
at the Military Institute. Remained here until the corps was 
ordered into service at Richmond, in April, 1861. Performed 
the duties of drill-ma.ster until after the corps was disbanded, 
when he was appointed adjutant at Battery No. 9, on the 
Brooke Turnpike, in the immediate vicinity of Richmond. 
After holding this position for several months, he resigned, 
and entered Co. " C," 2d Virginia Cavalry, Wickham's Bri- 
gade, Fitz. Lee's Division, as a private. Was killed the next 
year at Hartswood Church, in Stafford County, in a charge. 
His remains, gotten by his brother under a flag of truce at 
Fredericksburg, were interred at Fincastle. 



WILLIAM H. RANDOLPH, 

OF AUGUSTA COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, 4TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

William H. Randolph, son of John Randolph, of Middle- 
brook, Augusta County, Virginia, was born in 1834. In his 
eighteenth year he entered the Virginia Military Institute, 
during the session of 1852-53, but did not complete his 
course at that school. Just after the John Brown raid he be- 
came a member of an infantry company, and with this com- 
pany entered the service, in April, 1861, joining the forces 
collecting at Harper's Ferry, His company was here assigned 
to the 4th Virginia Infantry. Mr. Randolph's great coolness 



436 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

and bravery at the first battle of Manassas, after his captain 
(William H. Nelson) was wounded and taken from the field, 
so endeared him to his comrades that, at the reorganization, 
they elected him their captain over both lieutenants. Serving 
with soldierly skill in command of this company, he was killed 
in one of the battles around Richmond, in June, 1862. 

Captain Randolph was a tall, well-developed man, every 
inch a soldier. A member of the old Stonewall Brigade, he 
was well worthy of the honor of holding office in that unsur- 
passed command. 



EDWARD A. RHODES, 

OF CALIFORNIA; LIEUTENANT, IITH NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Edward Averett Rhodes was born at Galveston, Texas, 
on the 15th of June, 1841. His father, the late Colonel E. A. 
Rhodes, of North Carolina, was United States Consul at that 
port. From 1852 until 1858, Edward's home was with his 
parents in California. During his boyhood he evinced pecu- 
liarly noble traits of character ; of an exceedingly gentle and 
affectionate disposition, he was brave, truthful, and earnest 
alike in his love for everything pure and good, and in hatred 
and scorn towards all that is mean or bad. As a child he 
evinced remarkable reverence ; saw God in everything ; his 
mother says, " I have seen him kneel and kiss an opening 
bud, uncover and examine a grain of sprouting wheat, and 
cover it again with glistening eyes and reverential care ; yet 
he had no morbid or mawkish sensibilities, his moral nature 
was singularly healthy." 

At twelve years old he was a fearless rider and an excellent 
shot. His favorite study was mathematics ; his favorite author, 
Plutarch. After some preparatory study, from 1858 to i860, 
he entered the Virginia Military Institute, in July of the last- 
mentioned year. His cadet-life was short, extending only 



EDWARD A. RHODES. 



437 



until the middle of the following April. This time, however, 
he improved. His mother says, " In his letters to me while 
there, he wrote much in praise of the course of study, in fact, 
of everything connected with the Institute, and showed an 
earnest desire to profit by his educational advantages to the 
utmost. He also wrote much about the disturbed state of our 
country, evincing a remarkably correct view of the political 
situation. While aware that though of Northern birth (I was 
born and reared in New Hampshire), my sympathies and 
convictions of right were wholly on the side of the South, 
he knew also that in the event of civil war my relatives would 
be opposed to those of his father in the struggle, and this 
knowledge caused him great unhappiness." 

When the State of Virginia seceded, in April, i86i,and the 
governor ordered the corps of cadets to Richmond, Cadet 
Rhodes went with them, and acted as drill-master at the 
camp of instruction there for some months. Was thence 
transferred to Raleigh, North Carolina, and finally to Roanoke 
Island, in the same capacity. On the 22d of January, 1862, he 
was commissioned second lieutenant in the nth North Caro- 
lina Infantry. He was in the battle of White Hall, December 
16, 1862, and in fact, in all active service participated in by 
his regiment from the time he became a member of it until 
the battle of Gettysburg. During a greater portion of this 
time he acted as adjutant of the regiment, and was greatly 
beloved by his colonel, Leventhorpe. In the great battle of 
July I, 1863, he fell. In a charge of his regiment, on the 
afternoon of that day, the color-bearer was wounded in the 
ankle ; as he fell. Lieutenant Rhodes seized the colors, and 
was in the act of advancing, cheering the men, when he was 
struck in the head by a Minie-ball, and fell, murmuring, " Oh, 
God !" into the arms of his captain. His two young friends. 
Cooper and Lowrie, fell nearly at the same moment, and were 
buried that night by the officers on the spot where they fell, 
near the " Seminary." 

Colonel Leventhorpe, in a letter to Mrs. Rhodes, written 
soon after her son's death, speaking of this day's battle, says. 



438 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

"I saw Eddie for a moment, just as we were nearing the 
enemy, when he remarked to me, with a smile, " We are 
marching in excellent line." Even in the moment of peril of 
life, the brave young officer could not repress this feeling of 
soldierly pride in the troops he had so patiently and faithfully 
drilled. The surgeon of the nth, a prisoner at Norfolk, also 
wrote to Mrs. Rhodes, telling her of her son's death. Going 
at once to Gettysburg, she identified the graves of the three 
friends, Rhodes, Cooper, and Lowrie, their names being 
written on a barrel-stave at the head of the grave, and in the 
following spring had their remains removed to "Greenmount," 
Baltimore. 

California was the chosen home of young Rhodes. He 
owned no interest in the South ; not a foot of land, not a slave. 
Thoroughly acquainted with the history of our country, he 
entered the Southern army, and gave his whole soul to the 
cause he believed to be just. To complete this sketch we 
give a brief outline of his character, taken from an obituary 
published in a North Carolina paper in 1863 : 

" Traits such as his are sure to win friends, and he soon be- 
came a favorite, not only with his commander, but with the 
regiment. Possessed of intellect of a high order, with a keen 
appreciation of the necessities of the times, and an ambition to 
excel in whatever he engaged, by diligent application he rapidly 
acquired such a knowledge of military affairs as fully qualified 
him for the rugged life of a soldier, and distinguished him at 
once as among the most efficient officers of his brigade. He 
was noble by nature. Talented and brave, his heart never , 
quailed, nor did his hand waver in executing what his judg- 
ment approved. Unobtrusive in his manners, generous and 
affectionate, his modest merit sought not the glare of the 
world, but shone beautifully forth among his many friends 
and in the quiet communion of the home circle. As a son, 
he was an example well worthy of imitation, for none could 
surpass him in affectionate devotion to his widowed mother. 
As a friend and companion, he was genial in disposition, de- 
voted and truthful. As a soldier, he was brave and enthusi- 



THOMAS C. RICE, M.D. 439 

astic, and thought no sacrifice too great for the success of that 
cause to which he had given his life. He fell, alas, in a strange 
land ! and sleeps in an unknown grave ! but he has a tomb in 
the hearts of his loving friends at home, and a monument in 
the memory of his country, 

" There is a tear for all who die, 

A mourner o'er the meanest grave. 
But nations swell the funeral cry. 
And triumph weeps above the brave. 

" D. T." 



THOMAS C. RICE, M.D., 

OF CHARLOTTE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, 3D VIRGINIA CAVALRY. 

Thomas C. Rice, son of J. B. Rice, Esq., was born in Char- 
lotte County, Virginia, in 1835. In July, 1852, he entered 
the Military Institute. Staying here a year, he went to the 
University of Virginia for several sessions, and then became 
a student in the Jefferson Medical College at Philadelphia, 
where he graduated. He soon after returning to Virginia 
commenced the practice of medicine at Catawba, in Halifax 
County. At the beginning of the war Dr. Rice had just be- 
gun to get well into a large and lucrative practice. Leaving 
this immediately, he entered the service as a lieutenant in a 
cavalry company formed in his county, and which afterwards 
was attached to the 3d Virginia Cavalry, His generous and 
noble impulses soon won him the affection of all who were 
thrown with him. His gallant and chivalrous bearing in the 
hour of danger would have caused him to gain high position 
in the service of his country had he not at an early period of 
the war fallen a victim to disease. Soon after the retreat from 
Yorktown he was brought to his home in Charlotte County 
in the last stages of a violent fever, and died in a few weeks 
after reaching home. 



440 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

J. Q. RICHARDSON, 

OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, 52D NORTH CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Major J, Q. Richardson was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, 
in 1836. He was a son of Mrs. Anna Richardson, who is still 
living in that city ; was for a short time a cadet at the Mili- 
tary Institute, having been there during a portion of the ses- 
sions of 1851-52. At the outbreak of the war he entered 
the service promptly, and in 1862 was elected major of the 
5 2d North Carolina Infantry. In this capacity he served until 
killed, in a charge of his regiment at the battle of Gettysburg. 



ROBERT E. RODES, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR-GENERAL, A. N. V. 

Robert Emmet Rodes was born in Lynchburg, on the 
29th of March, 1829. His father, General David Rodes, was 
a native of Albemarle County. He married Miss Yancey, of' 
Bedford, and when his distinguished son was born had long 
been a resident of Lynchburg. Robert entered the Virginia 
Military Institute in July, 1845, and graduated with distinc- 
tion in 1848. He was at once appointed an assistant profes- 
sor, a position which he held for two years. During this 
period he acquired some experience in civil engineering, on 
the North River Canal, near Lexington, and determined to 
adopt it as a profession. He commenced his career on the 
Southside Railroad, connecting the cities of Lynchburg and 
Petersburg, where he remained until 1854, when he accepted 
a position on the Texas Pacific, a road which was started 



ROBERT E. RODES. 



441 



under brilliant auspices. The financial affairs of this com- 
pany soon became much embarrassed, and in April, 1855, he 
removed to the N. E. and S. W. Alabama Road, which like- 
wise suspended operations in a few months. In November of 
the same year he went on the Western North Carolina Road, 
where he remained some months, and acquired considerable 
reputation. From this road he was induced to go to Mis- 
souri, but not being pleased in this new field, he returned, in 
October, 1856, to Alabama, where the N. E. and S. W. Road 
was about to resume operations. On the loth of September, 
1857, he married Miss Virginia Hortense Woodruff, of Tus- 
caloosa, and in the following January was made chief engineer 
of his road, which he managed with great energy and skill 
until the commencement of the war. 

Just before the war he was elected Professor of Applied 
Mechanics in the Virginia Military Institute, a position which 
he nominally held to the day of his death. 

His patriotic spirit and his military training alike prompted 
him to draw his sword at the first clash of arms, and he raised 
a volunteer company, the "Warrior Guard," which, in January, 
1 86 1, he took to Fort Morgan. Returning to Tuscaloosa, he 
devoted himself to perfecting the drill of his men, and to getting 
his road in such condition as to dispense with his services. 

In May his company v/as ordered to Montgomery, where 
the 5th Alabama Regiment was organized, and he was elected 
its colonel. The regiment proceeded to Pensacola, but in 
June his strong desire to join the Virginia army was gratified 
by an order to proceed to Manassas, where he was attached 
to Ewell's Brigade, of Van Dorn's Division. From this time 
his regiment was actively employed, chiefly on the outposts ; 
but, as is well known, the failure to receive orders prevented 
Ewell, who was then at Union Mills, from participating to 
any extent in the first battle of Manassas. 

In October, Rodes, having attracted notice by his zeal, his 
alertness, and his discipline, was promoted to the rank of 
brigadier-general, and took command of a brigade composed 
of the 5th, 6th, and 12th Alabama, and 12th Mississippi 



442 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Regiments, and Captain Thomas H. Carter's battery of light 
artillery. With this he accompanied General Johnson to 
the Peninsula, in April, 1862, where Page's battery of heavy 
artillery was united with his command. At the battle of 
Williamsburg his brigade was in reserve behind Early, but 
did not become engaged there, or at any other point on the 
retreat to Richmond. 

On May 31 occurred the well-known battle of Seven Pines, 
in which the brilliant design of General Johnson was baffled 
by that want of combined action on the part of subordinates 
which caused so many subsequent failures and fruitless vic- 
tories during the progress of the war. General Rodes's 
Brigade, now attached to D. H. Hill's Division, was formed 
on the right or west side of the Williamsburg road, about 
half a mile from the enemy's works. Crossing an open 
field, it encountered and drove back the Federal skirmishers 
through a piece of woods, and emerged into a plain several 
hundred yards in width. Across this plain was the enemy's 
line of works, including a formidable redoubt defended by 
nine Napoleon guns. In front of the works was an elaborate 
abattis. Reforming his line at the edge of the woods, he 
dashed through the obstructions and across the plain with 
an impetuosity that was irresistible, and carried the works, 
capturing all the guns, and General Casey's headquarters in 
rear of the rifle-pits. The Napoleons were instantly manned 
by a detail from the heavy artillery battalion, and turned 
upon the enemy, together with Carter's Battery, which came 
rapidly up. This brilliant attack, together with the subse- 
quent operations, was attended with very heavy loss. The 
brigade, about twenty-five hundred strong, lost in killed, 
wounded, and missing one thousand and eighty-six, including 
most of the field officers. General Rodes himself was badly 
wounded, and his aid-de-camp. Captain P. Sutton, lost an 
arm. Notwithstanding the pain and exhaustion attending 
his wound, he would not leave the field until the close of 
the day's operations. 

A weary month of suffering and inaction followed, but on 



ROBERT E. RODES. 



443 



June 24, anticipating the movements about to take place, he 
rejoined his command, which in the interval had been con- 
verted into an entire Alabama brigade, by the removal of the 
1 2th Mississippi Regiment and Page's Battalion, and the sub- 
stitution of the 3d and 26th Alabama Regiments. 

On the evening of the 26th, Hill's Division was thrown 
across the Chickahominy, at Mechanicsville, to unite with 
Jackson, who was moving down from the Valley. This 
junction was effected the next day, and culminated in the first 
battle of Cold Harbor, in which Rodes, late in the evening, 
succeeded in carrying the crest of the hill in his front, 
bristling with cannon, which were all left in his hands. Here 
he lost an aid, Captain Webster, shot through the head 
during the charge. The excitement and fatigue incident to 
the arduous duties in which he was now engaged caused his 
wound to re.open, with the accompaniment of high fever. He 
was carried to Richmond on the night of the 29th, and his 
brigade was gallantly led at White Oak Swamp and Malvern 
Hill by Colonel (subsequently Lieutenant-General) J. B. Gor- 
don, who commanded the 6th Alabama Regiment. 

During the operations of Jackson against Pope, the division 
was detained near Hanover Junction, to prevent an attempt of 
the enemy against Richmond from the direction of Fred- 
ericksburg. On August 27 it took up its line of march for 
Maryland, leaving Rodes still sick in Richmond. His brigade 
had the honor of crossing the Potomac, on September 5, at 
the head of the army of Northern Virginia, and Rodes joined 
it on the 6th, near Frederick City. On the 14th was fought 
the battle of Boonsboro' Gap. General McClellan, being 
made aware, from a lost dispatch, of Lee's designs, pushed 
forward with almost his entire force to strike the latter near 
Boonsboro' during the absence of Jackson on his expedition 
against Harper's Ferry. The Gap in the mountain was de- 
fended by one brigade of Hill's Division, — that of General 
Samuel Garland, likewise a native of Lynchburg, and a grad- 
uate of the Virginia Military Institute, who fell early in the 
action. The rest of the division was brought rapidly forward 



444 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

when the advance of the enemy was known, and formed in 
front of the crest of the mountain. Rodes's Brigade alone 
occupied the left or east side of the turnpike, and for hours 
held the enemy at bay unaided, until Longstreet's troops 
arrived from near Hagerstown, and moved on to his assist- 
ance. The pressure of the Federals at this point became too 
strong to be resisted, and Rodes gradually gave back, fight- 
ing behind trees and rocks, until late in the evening he had 
been forced over the crest of the mountain. Night closed in 
before the enemy could accomplish any decisive result. At 
midnight Rodes was pushed on rapidly to Sharpsburg, to 
clear that village of the enemy, erroneously reported to be in 
some force. By the i6th the army, except Jackson's troops, 
were in line of battle in front of Sharpsburg, Rodes having 
his left resting on the Hagerstown turnpike. Throughout 
the 17th the battle raged with alternate fortune, but by 2 p.m. 
Hill's Division was almost entirely scattered. Rodes had 
received a contusion from a fragment of shell, his aid was 
seriously wounded, Gordon had been shot in fiive places, and 
only a handful of his men held together. Fortunately, the 
enemy ceased to press with vigor on this portion of the line. 
During the next day the brigade remained in line of battle to 
the left of the Hagerstown pike, and at night withdrew across 
the Potomac. 

The next two months were assiduously devoted to reorgan- 
izing and drilling his command, which was encamped most of 
the time in a charming locality near Bunker Hill. During 
this time the 2d Army Corps was constituted, with Jackson 
for its commander. To this corps Hill's Division was attached. 

On November 23, the brigade, now in excellent spirits 
and condition, commenced its march from the Valley, and on 
December 3 reached the neighborhood of Port Royal, on the 
lower Rappahannock, where it remained until hurriedly sum- 
moned to Fredericksburg by the crossing of Burnside's army^ 
Marching all night, through rain and mud, on the morning 
of the 13th Rodes reached Hamilton's Crossing, and was 
placed in the plain of Massaponax Creek, on the extreme right 



ROBERT E. RODES. 



445 



of Jackson's Corps. On the 14th he reheved Lane's Brigade 
on the railroad at the point where Meade had been repulsed 
with such slaughter. With the exception of skirmishing and 
exposure to a heavy artillery fire, the brigade took no active 
part in this the first battle of Fredericksburg. 

Four months and a half were now spent in winter quarters, 
near Grace Church, below Fredericksburg. The camp was 
graced by the presence of Mrs. Rodes and other ladies, and 
the perfect rest of officers and men was only broken by the 
necessity of picketing the Rappahannock River. January 16, 
1863, General D. H. Hill being transferred to North Carolina, 
Rodes assumed command of the division, consisting of Rodes's 
Alabama Brigade, Ramseur's and Iverson's North Carolina 
Brigades, and Dole's and Colquitt's Georgia Brigades. Sub- 
sequent to the battle of Chancellorsville the last was ex- 
changed for Daniel's splendid North Carolina Brigade. 

On April 29, the enemy being reported as crossing the 
river, the division was ordered to Hamilton's Crossing, and 
on May i, in the van of the 2d Corps, commenced that 
extraordinary flank movement which will ever remain the 
crowning glory of General Jackson's military career. During 
the greater portion of that day and the next, Jackson rode 
with Rodes at the head of the column in frequent conver- 
sation. At a point on the route, near Catharine's Furnace, 
where a road entered at right angles from the direction of the 
enemy, and in their view. General Jackson directed Rodes to 
leave a regiment to protect the artillery which followed. This 
regiment, from Colquitt's Brigade, was placed by its com- 
mander in a railroad cut, and allowed to be quietly gobbled up 
by Sickles, who would have captured the whole train but for 
the splendid conduct of its commander. Colonel J. Thompson 
Brown, who drove them off with his guns alone. 

Late in the afternoon of the 2d, line of battle was formed 
in the woods on the left, or north side of the old Orange 
Court-House and Fredericksburg Turnpike. Rodes's Division 
occupied the first line, Edward Johnson's Division, tempo- 
rarily commanded by Brigadier-General Colston, the second, 



446 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

and A. P. Hill's the third. About 6 p.m. the advance was 
sounded, and instantly the enemy was struck, and hurled 
back in the wildest confusion and dismay. So rapid and un- 
expected was the attack that men were shot down in the pens 
slaughtering cattle for supper, and two staff officers of General 
RoDES, leaping from their saddles for a moment to drink a cup 
of coffee, which had been abandoned, found it too hot to be 
swallowed. This rout, inferior only to that of Manassas, was 
pressed back to the heights of Chancellorsville, cannon, flags, 
and plunder of all sorts being abandoned. By the time that 
the troops had fairly entered the almost impenetrable thicket 
of woods near the latter place, night had settled down, and 
the divisions of Rodes and Johnson were mingled in great 
confusion. They were halted, and A. P. Hill, who had not 
fired a shot, was ordered forward to take their place. 

During this movement, General Jackson rode forward with 
his staff to reconnoitre. On his return, his party was mis- 
taken in the darkness for a body of the enemy's cavalry, was 
fired on, and he received several wounds, from which he died 
in a few days. General A. P. Hill being also temporarily 
disabled, the command of the corps now devolved on Rodes, 
who, though only a brigadier-general commanding a division, 
was the ranking officer present. Whilst making his disposi- 
tions for the renewal of the attack next morning at daylight, 
Major-General J. E. B. Stuart, in command of the cavalry, 
rode up and claimed the command of the corps on the ground 
of seniority. ,On this occasion Rodes exhibited conspicuously 
that noble spirit which ever actuated him during life. The 2d 
Corps had just gained a splendid victory, largely attributed to 
the good conduct of himself and his command. He was look- 
ing forward to a no less glorious morrow, when all the fruits 
of success would be gathered, to be laid by him at the feet of 
General Lee, as some compensation for the irreparable loss he 
had sustained. The ambition of this young general was sorely 
tempted. The command was his by military law, and he was 
conscious of the power to wield it loyally and well, but his 
love of country transcended his love of self, and he put the 



ROBERT E. RODES. 



447 



temptation aside. Stuart was then in the zenith of his fame, 
whilst RoDES was comparatively unknown. He feared the 
effect upon the spirits of the men if it were known that he 
had asserted his claim against Stuart. He yielded the com- 
mand, and cheerfully put himself under the orders of the 
latter. 

The dawn of the morning of the 3d revealed the heights 
crowned with works and bristling with cannon. Repeated 
assaults were made without permanent success. Twice was 
the Alabama Brigade inside the lines, and many of its men 
and one of its flags were captured among the guns. Ram- 
seur's Brigade also gained and lost a portion of the works, 
but not until our artillery was massed, and had concentrated 
the fire of some thirty guns upon those of the enemy, did we 
succeed in permanently holding the Chancellorsville plateau. 

The next two or three days were busily employed by the 
Federal troops in constructing a most intricate system of forti- 
fications between Chancellorsville and United States Ford, 
whilst the 2d Corps lay quietly in their front awaiting results 
near Fredericksburg and the arrival of other troops. During 
this period, Johnson's Division was temporarily placed under 
the command of General Rodes. Preparations were made for 
an attack early on the morning of the 6th, when it was ascer- 
tained that the enemy had withdrawn under cover of night, 
and were safe across the river. Rodes returned to his old 
camp near Grace Church. 

General Jackson on his death-bed had spoken in high praise 
of him, and requested his promotion to the rank of major-gen- 
eral. This promotion was now made, and dated May 2, the 
day on which he had so gallantly won it. 

On the 6th, the corps, now consisting of Early's, Johnson's, 
and Rodes's Divisions, under command of General Ewell, 
moved out of camp en route for the Valley. Rodes was de- 
layed on the 9th, near Brandy Station, to support our cavalry, 
who were heavily engaged. Without coming to blows he 
proceeded as far as Front Royal, where he was detached, and 
so continued up to the battle of Gettysburg. Turning to the 



448 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

right by Berryville, which he captured on the I2th, with sev- 
eral hundred prisoners, he pushed on to Martinsburg, which 
he hkewise captured on the 14th, with a few cannon and very 
large supplies. On the 15th he crossed the Potomac at Wil- 
liamsport, his division, as in the former campaign, being the 
first to touch the soil of Maryland, 

After a few days' delay at Hagerstown, where our troops 
were always received with great joy and hospitality, he pro- 
ceeded, on the 23d, to Greencastle, Pennsylvania, and thence 
via Chambersburg to Carlisle, where he arrived on the 27th, 
and established his quarters in the United States cavalry 
barracks. In this entire march through the enemy's country 
the most scrupulous care was taken to commit no depreda- 
tions. All supplies were procured through the quartermaster 
and commissary departments, and even the fences were pro- 
tected with a care that had never been exhibited in Virginia. 
At Carlisle the Confederate flag was raised to the masthead 
of the barracks amid patriotic speeches from General Rodes, 
Trimble, and others. 

On the morning of the 30th, when on the road to Harrisburg, 
distant about twenty miles, orders were received for the army 
to concentrate near Cashtown, a small village about six miles 
northwest from Gettysburg. It was always a source of regret 
to General Rodes that he was thus debarred from occupying 
the capital of Pennsylvania, which lay defenseless at his feet; 
but, promptly obeying orders, he turned his back on Carlisle, 
leaving the barracks undisturbed as he found them. They 
were subsequently burned by Stuart. Whilst passing the 
village of Middletown, five miles north of Gettysburg, on the 
morning of July i, the booming of artillery from the latter 
direction arrested his march. Turning short to the left, he 
at once proceeded in the direction of the sound, and soon 
came up with Heth's Division of A. P. Hill's Corps, which was 
heavily engaged with the advance Federal column. Forming 
line at once, he dashed into the conflict on Heth's left, and 
relieved him from pressure. Daniel's Brigade, in full charge, 
came upon a railroad cut of great depth ; but, filing in splen- 



ROBERT E. RODES. 44^ 

did style to the point of grade, it again came to the front, and 
drove the enemy back. Iverson's Brigade, less skillfully han- 
dled, encountered severe losses. In riding along the line, the 
writer saw what he thought was a regiment lying down in a 
sunken road. It proved to be a line of men of the latter bri- 
gade who had fallen dead in their tracks. The fight was fiercely 
waged until the opportune arrival of Early's Division from 
York, which struck the exposed right flank of the Federals. 
At this moment Rodes made a vigorous forward movement 
with his entire command, and the enemy gave way in every 
direction, rushing through the town of Gettysburg to the 
heights beyond in great disorder, leaving five thousand pris- 
oners in the hands of General Evvell. 

General Lee, who had come on the field, was an eye-witness 
of this charge, and sent Rodes a complimentary message in 
regard to it. During the two following days his division 
occupied the town of Gettysburg, extending out on the Mil- 
lerstown road. It participated in two or three demonstrations 
against Cemetery Hill, but was not seriously engaged. On 
the 4th it moved back to Seminary Ridge, and on the morn- 
ing of the 5th commenced the retreat, bringing up the rear on 
the Fairfield road. There was but little molestation by the 
enemy, and Hagerstown was reached on the 7th. Here line 
of battle was again formed, and maintained until the evening 
of the 13th, when, Meade not having dared to attack, the 
Potomac was recrossed, Rodes's Division fording a mile above 
Williamsport, with a drenching rain, mud knee-deep, and 
water to the arm-pits. 

Resting until the 23d, the march was resumed via Front 
Royal, when a demonstration of the enemy through Manassas 
Gap was repulsed by the division. Proceeding by Thornton's 
Gap and Madison Court-House, on the 3d of August Orange 
Court-House was reached, and the wearied troops were at 
length allowed a lengthened rest. The camp at this place 
was rendered very agreeable by the hospitality of the com- 
munity, by the presence of many ladies, and by the splendid 
reviews under the eyes of the commanding general. On 

29 



450 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



September 14, the division was called to Summerville Ford, 
on the Rapidan, by a threatened crossing of the enemy, and 
subsequently was posted at Martin's Ford. 

On October 8, General Lee started on his well-known flank 
movement against Meade, Rodes moved by Orange Court- 
House and Madison Court-House, and on the 12th struck the 
Federal cavalry near Jeffersonton, and drove them in confusion 
across the Rappahannock at the Warrenton Springs. After 
some skirmishing near Auburn on the 14th, the division was 
engaged until the 19th in destroying the Orange and Alex- 
andria Railroad, when it recrossed the Rappahannock and 
went into quarters at Kelly's Ford. From this it was rudely 
disturbed on November 7 by a sudden forward movement by 
Meade, and suffered some loss in resisting his passage of the 
river. Falling back behind the Rapidan, Rodes again took 
post at Martin's Ford on the 9th. Here he remained until the 
27th, when Meade, by way of retaliation, crossed his army at 
Germanna, some miles below, to make a flank attack on Gen- 
eral Lee. The determined front with which he was met at 
Mine Run induced him to abandon the enterprise, and on the 
night of the 30th he repassed the Rapidan, Rodes following 
the retreating army next morning as far as Germanna and 
picking up some prisoners. Returning to Martin's Ford on 
December 2, he shortly after went into winter quarters on the 
Plank Road, six miles below Orange Court-House, leaving a 
brigade to picket the ford. 

In February, General Rodes was ordered to Hanover Junc- 
tion with two brigades, in anticipation of a raid upon Rich- 
mond, but returned in two weeks, leaving Johnson's (formerly 
Iverson's) Brigade behind. This brigade, thus detached, never 
rejoined him, but was subsequently, with the remnants of John- 
son's Division, made into a division for General J. B. Gordon. 

On February 29 a movement of the enemy towards Char- 
lottesville again called him from camp, and his division, with 
others, marched to Madison Court-House through a blinding 
snow. The enterprise being abandoned, he returned to camp 
on March i, but on the 3d was pushed down the Plank Road 



ROBERT E. RODES. 45 I 

in the vain hope of intercepting Kilpatrick on his return from 
the celebrated Dahlgren raid on Richmond. 

With the exception of the interruptions mentioned, the 
winter passed quietly, rendered very agreeable to General 
RoDES and his military family by the presence in camp of 
Mrs. Rodes and, occasionally, of other ladies. There was 
little cause or occasion for festivity in the Southern Confed- 
eracy ; but the quiet pleasure of those winter evenings will 
long be remembered by those who had the opportunity of 
enjoying them. 

This agreeable existence was abruptly broken on the morn- 
ing of May 4, 1864, when that eventful campaign was opened 
which only closed on the 9th of April, 1865, at Appomattox 
Court-House. Rodes's Division, now composed of Daniel's, 
Doles's, Ramseur's, and Battle's Brigades, was destined to bear 
a most important part in those memorable events. Attached to 
Ewell's Corps, afterwards Early's, it was engaged in more than 
forty actions of more or less importance, and marched some 
two thousand miles, before it surrendered its handful of muskets 
to General Grant. On the very morning of that 9th of April, 
full of spirit and courage, it drove back Sheridan's cavalry 
more than a mile and captured several guns before it laid 
down its arms at the dictate of its broken-hearted and beloved 
commander-in-chief. It commenced the campaign with an 
aggregate of 6987 present for duty (of those who go into 
action). On the ist day of November following, it had lost 
in killed, 1066; wounded, 2677; missing, 2665; making a total 
of 6408. Included in this number were i major-general, 4 
brigadiers, 52 field and staff officers, and 363 company officers. 
It was then commanded by a major-general who was colonel 
of a regiment on the 4th of May. This fearful record, which is 
official, would appear to leave no division at all; but it must 
be remembered that it was constantly recruited by the return 
of sick and wounded. I say nothing of its casualties from 
November to April, 1865, but my impression is that it num- 
bered in all about seven hundred men when it surrendered. I 
have nothing to verify this latter statement. 



452 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



It being known on the morning of May 4 that Grant was 
crossing his army at Germanna and Ely's Fords, Ewell at once 
moved down the old turnpike, camping that night near Lo- 
cust Grove. Moving forward the next morning, the skirmish- 
ers of Warren's Corps were soon encountered. About noon 
the enemy attacked in force. The brigade of Malone, of 
Johnson's Division, was entirely routed and its commander 
killed. At this moment Daniel's and Dole's Brigades arrived 
on the ground, and were instantly formed by General Rodes 
on the right of the turnpike. They dashed forward with 
great impetuosity against the exultant Federals, driving them 
back in disorder and capturing two guns. The rest of the 
division was soon in line, and the conflict became general, 
resulting in checking the enemy everywhere, and in capturing 
several prisoners. Hasty rifle-pits were now constructed on 
the line held by our troops, and in this position they remained 
until the night of the 7th, when a general movement was made 
to the right. On the 8th, the division reached the neighbor- 
hood of Spottsylvania Court-House, about sunset, and was at 
once put into action, driving back the Federals a short dis- 
tance until darkness intervened. Drawing back from the 
woods, the men immediately commenced intrenching where 
they lay on their arms, Johnson connecting with Rodes's 
right. The line thus accidentally adopted became afterwards 
the cause of great disasters; it formed a prominent salient in 
Dole's front, and a far worse one on the line of Johnson's Di- 
vision. On the loth, Dole's salient was carried, late in the 
evening, by a sudden assault. Battle's and Gordon's Brigades 
were hurried up, and by night the enemy were driven out and 
the line re-established. General Lee and his staff were present 
on this occasion, and the latter were conspicuous in the melee. 
The division met with a severe loss in this affair. General 
Junius Daniel, one of the most accomplished officers in the 
service, fell pierced through the bowels by a ball, and Cap- 
tain Hutchinson, a gallant aid of Rodes, was shot through 
the head. 

On the morning of May 12 occurred the memorable assault 



ROBERT E. RODES. 453 

on Johnson's salient, which resulted in his capture, the almost 
annihilation of his command, and the penetration of the enemy- 
far inside the Confederate line. The steady, unflinching move- 
ment of Ramseur's Brigade that morning, in which he inch 
by inch drove the enemy back into the captured salient, can 
never be forgotten by any one who saw it. Troops were 
hurried from all directions to sustain Rodes, upon whom fell 
the task of checking, and holding in check, the living torrent 
that threatened to disrupt the army. All were reported to 
him and were put into action by him. In the mean time Gor- 
don was actively employed in entrenching a new line in the 
rear, to which it became Rodes's delicate and responsible po- 
sition to withdraw all the troops in front. Throughout that 
long and anxious day and night the enemy maintained a line 
of battle fire, so fierce and so continuous that a white-oak tree 
more than twelve inches in diameter was literally cut in two 
by bullets. This was seen by the writer at the time. Re- 
peated efforts were made to drive them out of the salient and 
rescue the lost guns, and hundreds of lives were lost in the 
vain attempt. About 2 a.m. on the 13th, amidst the cease- 
less fire of the enemy, and torrents of rain, our ground cut into 
a hundred trenches and covered with the bodies of dead and 
dying men, accompanied by impenetrable darkness, the ex- 
hausted troops were withdrawn to the interior line, and drew 
a long breath of relief after twenty-four hours of unceasing 
combat. The coolness, judgment, and skill with which the 
operations of this most trying day were managed by General 
RoDES were the subject of universal commendation. 

On the 19th, his division, now moved to the extreme left of 
the army, made, in connection with Gordon's Division, a flank 
attack, which came very near resulting in a serious disaster, 
but ended in nothing of consequence. On the 21st, he started 
for Hanover Junction, which place he reached on the 22d, and 
established his line on Doswcll's Farm. This line was main- 
tained, with some heavy skirmishing, until the 27th, when the 
movement to the right was renewed. From the day that 
winter quarters were abandoned until Hanover Junction was 



454 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



reached, not even the division commander had seen a wagon 
or tent, so incessant was the demand upon all the army. 
Camping at Hundley's Corner on the 28th, on the 30th a heavy 
attack was made by the corps, now under the command of 
Early, near Bethesda Church. The loss was heavy, but the 
enemy was not dislodged. On June 2, a more serious attack 
was made near the same point, with no better success. In this 
attack the artillery suffered very severely, and Rodes lost a 
valuable and gallant officer in Brigadier-General Doles. The 
fight was renewed on the 3d of June with like result. On the 
6th another demonstration was made against the enemy's right 
flank, but it was found to be withdrawn. 

At 2 A.M. of the 13th, Early started from Lee's army to 
throw his corps across the path of Hunter, who, after defeat- 
ing General Jones in the Valley, was pushing for Lynchburg 
by way of Lexington. Reaching Lynchburg, a distance of 
one hundred and forty miles, on the i8th, Hunter was found 
in front of the city, opposed by Breckinridge, with a small 
force. The arrival of Early caused him to beat a hasty retreat 
that night, hotly pursued as far as the Gap beyond Salem. 
Turning from Hunter, who was now thrown entirely out of 
the range of operations, the corps, once more united with 
its train, started on the 23d for Maryland. On the night of 
July 4, Rodes occupied Harper's Ferry, which had been 
evacuated by the enemy, capturing commissary and ordnance 
military stores in abundance. Crossing the Potomac on the 
6th, he reached Frederick City on the morning of the 9th, 
and held the left flank of the army at the battle of Monocacy, 
in which Wallace was defeated. At i^ p.m. of the iith, his 
division, being in the advance, struck the fortifications at Wash- 
ington City. Throwing forward his skirmish line, which soon 
became warmly engaged, he deployed his troops and felt the 
works at several points. They were found to be very strong 
and apparently well defended. It is needless here to discuss 
the vexed question whether Washington could have been cap- 
tured or not. General Rodes was decidedly of opinion that it 
could not, and that opinion has been clearly vindicated since 



ROBERT E. RODES. 



455 



by General Early. The 12th was occupied as the day before, 
in heavy skirmishing, in which his division lost not less than 
five hundred men. During this time Rodes made his head- 
quarters near the Blair House, and used every effort to prevent 
plundering. He recovered several articles of silver, and other 
valuables, that had been appropriated by stragglers, and de- 
posited them with a lady residing in the neighborhood, to be 
restored to the Blair family. 

On the 14th the Potomac was re-crossed near Leesburg, 
and, after a slight affair with the enemy's cavalry, the Shenan- 
doah was crossed on the 17th, and the division camped near 
Castleman's Ferry. 

On the 1 8th the enemy threw a large force across the river 
at this point, which was promptly met by Rodes, who drove 
them back with very great slaughter. Large numbers of 
them were forced into the water, and drowned in endeavoring 
to make their way across. This engagement, of which very 
little has been known or said, was the most severe and 
bloody, for the numbers engaged, that occurred during the 
Valley campaign. The army moved back on the 21st to 
Fisher's Hill, whence, on the 24th, it was launched against 
Crook at Kernstown, routing him completely. Notwithstand- 
ing the severe march of the morning, Rodes pursued the 
flying troops as far as Stevenson's Depot, six miles beyond 
Winchester. From this period to August 17, the history of 
Rodes's command consists of a series of marches and coun- 
termarches, — one day in Maryland, the next in Virginia, — 
engaged with Averill's Cavalry perpetually, with occasional 
exercise in destroying the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
Some idea may be formed of the active life it led when it is 
stated that, during the summer campaign, it was in camp 
six times at Fisher's Hill, and that Rodes pitched his tent 
nine different times in identically the same spot at Bunker 
Hill. 

On August 17, Early, having been reinforced by Ander- 
son, moved forward from Fisher's Hill against the enemy, 
now under command of Sheridan, who fell back before him 



456 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

towards Harper's Ferry. Rodes was slightly engaged at 
Winchester on that day, and quite actively witli the cavalry 
on the 2 1st, near Charlestovvn. On the 24th, Sheridan sent 
his cavalry around towards Early's rear, to cut his communi- 
cations. Rodes encountered them near Kearneysville, and 
they were driven across the Potomac. On this occasion he 
lost an esteemed friend and aid, Lieutenant Arrington, whose 
thigh was broken by a rifle-ball, — an injury which subse- 
quently caused his death. The following month was em- 
ployed in his accustomed occupation of marching backwards 
and forwards against Averill's Cavalry, which was uncom- 
monly active and bold. 

The 1 8th found Rodes encamped at Stevenson's Depot, six 
miles beyond Winchester, on the Martinsburg road. On the 
morning of the 19th Sheridan was announced to be advanc- 
ing, and RoDES's Division was hurried towards Winchester, 
to support Ramseur, who had met the shock alone. When he 
arrived upon the field, Gordon's Division, which had pre- 
ceded him, had been forced to give ground before the enemy, 
who were pushing forward to capture Colonel Braxton's eight 
guns, that gallantly stood their ground in the open field. 
The moment was critical. His own old Alabama Brigade, 
under General Battle, was in advance of his column. De- 
ploying at once in rear of the artillery, it swept forward, car- 
rying everything before it. General Early is reported to have 
said — as it might have been said with truth — that this splen- 
did charge saved his army that morning. Gordon's men 
rallied at once ; the rest of Rodes's Division formed on Bat- 
tle's right, and the whole line moved forward, the enemy 
giving way before it. At this instant, in the full flush of suc- 
cess, cheering his men on to victory, Rodes was struck in the 
head by a musket-ball, and fell from his horse, never to rise 
or speak again. From that moment fortune seemed to desert 
the army of the Valley. The sun of Winchester set in gloom 
and defeat, and never rose again to victory. 

It may well be left to the verdict of history to estimate 
General Rodes's merits as a soldier. It is certain that he was 



ROBERT E. ROBES. 457 

equal to every position he was called upon to fill. Those that 
knew him best deemed him worthy of high command. His 
thousands of surviving soldiers can testify to the sleepless 
vigilance that ever extended its protecting care over their 
slumbers ; to the untiring energy that provided for their 
wants, and to the solicitude which attended to their personal 
comfort. All can attest his firmness tempered with kindness, 
and his lofty courage unhappily too little tempered with pru- 
dence. For myself, I can speak of the man not less than of 
the soldier. It was my fortune to have had the most intimate 
and confidential relations with him during the greater part of 
the war. I shared his blanket and, I believe, his heart. 
Upright, truthful, just, stern in the discharge of duty and in 
exacting it of others, but soft and genial in his hours of ease 
and relaxation, he was universally beloved. 

For some months previous to his death he wrote much and 
earnestly to his wife of his soul's salvation, and said that he 
had a faint hope that God had forgiven him. Amid the pack- 
age of papers and maps found on his person, were two earnest 
prayers printed on cards. 

He left a son about a year old, and a daughter was born to 
his wife some months after his death. It is not my province 
to speak of the immeasurable loss which they sustained in the 
death of this tender husband and father, but even their grief 
was scarcely greater than that of him who pens this hasty and 
inadequate tribute to his memory. 

Major Green Peyton. 



458 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ARTHUR L. ROGERS, 

OF- LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, ARTILLERY, C. S. A. 

Arthur Lee Rogers, the second son of General Asa 
Rogers, was born at Middleburg, in the county of Loudoun, 
on the 2 1st of October, 1831. He showed in early childhood 
marks of genius, and made rapid progress in his studies. 
After passing through the schools at home, he was placed 
under the instruction of the celebrated Benjamin Hallowell, 
of Alexandria, by whom he was well prepared to enter the 
Virginia Military Institute, where he desired to complete his 
education. He entered upon his studies there with great zeal, 
and became a great favorite with General Smith, the superin- 
tendent, for whom he entertained the highest respect. But, 
always rather delicate in his frame, his health gave way under 
the active physical and mental duties of the Institute, he was 
reluctantly obliged to abandon his purpose, and returned to 
his home. 

As soon as his health was sufficiently restored, he was 
placed in the clerk's office of the County Court of Loudoun, 
with a view to the study of the law. Here he soon acquired 
a large acquaintance with the duties of that office. From 
there he went to Alexandria, and studied law in the office of 
Francis L. Smith, Esq., from whence he went to the Univer- 
sity of Virginia, where he graduated with distinction, and in 
1856 he came to the bar, practicing in Loudoun and the neigh- 
boring counties. 

In 1859 he was married to Miss Charlotte, youngest 
daughter of General George Rust, of Exeter, in Loudoun. 

When the late struggle was threatened, he espoused with 
great enthusiasm " the cause of the South," and resolved to 
devote his energies, and, if required, his life, in defense of her 
rights, and raised in his native county a fine company of vol- 
unteer artillery, well known afterwards as the " Loudoun Bat- 



ARTHUR L. ROGERS. 



459 



tery." He was unanimously elected to the command, and 
proceeded at once to Richmond, and tendered to Governor 
Letcher the services of his company. They took a conspicu- 
ous part in the first battle of Manassas, where his battery was 
distinguished for gallantry in a desperate fight with Sher- 
man's famous battery, at " the Bridge," where the enemy was 
cut up and repulsed. His battery and that of Captain Strib- 
ling were so reduced by losses that they were consolidated, 
and, " for gallantry on the field," he was promoted to the 
ofifice of major of artillery. 

It is not the purpose of the writer, in this sketch, to go into 
any extended detail of the military services of Major Rogers, 
but it is deemed proper to say that, at the battle of the Wil- 
derness, while serving as volunteer aid on the staff of his 
favorite commander, "Stonewall" Jackson, his arm was shat- 
tered by a shell, and he fell near his chief and near the same 
moment when the general was mortally wounded. 

He was brought to Richmond, and taken to the hospitable 
mansion of the late Dr. Beverley Wellford, where all that 
kindness and medical skill could afford were administered to 
him. His arm was saved, but never of much use, and from 
the effects of the wound he never recovered, having declared 
to the time of his death that he never enjoyed a good night's 
rest after the wound. 

As soon as he was able, he was removed to Lexington, 
where his wife and children were staying. Taking the deepest 
interest in the success of our arms, before he was really fit for 
service he reported at Richmond, and was assigned to duty at 
Chafin's Bluff. He remained in the army till the close of the 
war, when he returned to Loudoun, purchased his father's old 
home, and resumed the practice of the law. But his nervous 
system was so shattered by his wound, that he was advised 
by Dr. Smith, of Baltimore, and other eminent physicians, to 
keep out of his office, take active exercise in the open air, and 
avoid sedentary life and study. He then formed the plan 
of cultivating the vine and choice fruits. He addressed 
himself actively to this work, and planted a vineyard, and an 



460 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

orchard of choice fruit-trees, the former of which is now quite 
a success. 

When the Confederate Congress resolved to have a new 
national flag, Major Rogers presented to the committee his 
design, which, in competition with a great number of others, 
was unanimously adopted by Congress. 

He always took a lively interest in the public affairs of the 
country, and, highly gifted as a chaste and vigorous writer, 
he frequently contributed articles for the press. In the last 
year of his life he wrote a series of articles over the signature 
of "Junius " against the " usury clause " in the new Constitu- 
tion (lately repealed by vote of the people), which were exten- 
sively read and copied, and marked by signal ability. He did 
his country "some service," too, in causing, by his energy 
and enterprise, the construction of a valuable turnpike con- 
necting his county with the Manassas Gap Railroad, — a mon- 
ument, though small, to his public spirit. 

Few men were more genial, bright, and hospitable, and 
better adapted to social life. Brave and generous, tender and 
kind-hearted, he was always a welcome guest with his friends. 
Patriotic and public-spirited, he was ever ready to serve his 
country. Trained by a pious mother, the principles of moral- 
ity and Christianity were early implanted in his bosom, and in 
the fall of 1864 he and his wife were confirmed in the Episco- 
pal Church in Lexington. 

He died at his home on the 13th of September, 1871. 

Cut off in the prime of manhood, his memory, for all those 
qualities of head and heart for which he was so eminent, will 
long be cherished by his numerous surviving kindred and 
friends. 



JAMES R. SCALES. 46 1 



JAMES R. SCALES, 

OF PATRICK COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, COMPANY "H," 54TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

James Robert Scales was born in Patrick County, Vir- 
ginia, on the 23d of August, 1842. He was the son of Absa- 
lom and Eliza Carter Scales, and was descended from an old 
and influential family, of which several members served in 
some capacity or other in the Confederate army, one com- 
manding a brigade of North Carolina troops in the "Army 
of Northern Virginia," while others were field, line, or staff 
officers. 

Receiving his preliminary education at Germantown, North 
Carolina, and at Dr. Wilson's preparatory school for the Uni- 
versity of North Carolina, at Melville, Alamance County, he 
was appointed and reported for duty as a cadet of the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute in July, i860. Pursuing his studies 
until the following April, he went with the corps to Rich- 
mond, and remained there in the discharge of his duty, drill- 
ing recruits, until the middle of July, when the corps was 
disbanded. Subsequently Cadet Scales was induced by Judge 
W. R. Staples to go to Southwest Virginia and assist in pre- 
paring the 54th Virginia Infantry for the field. When he had 
completed this work, and the 54th was ordered into active 
service, a lieutenancy in the regiment was proffered him ; but 
he declined, and, returning to his native county, he soon 
enlisted as a private in Captain (afterwards Colonel) Penn's 
company of the 42d Virginia Infantry. He served with this 
command in the battles of Port Republic and McDowell, and 
also in the numerous skirmishes and combats that occurred 
in the Valley during the spring and summer of 1862. 

At the reorganization of the army in May, 1862, he was 
elected first lieutenant of Company " H," 54th Virginia, but 
was unable to report for duty until late in the following July. 



462 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

His regiment, forming a portion of Marshall's Brigade, went 
with it into Kentucky in September, 1862, at the time Gen- 
eral Bragg invaded that State with the Army of Tennessee. 
Returning to Virginia in November following, after having 
marched over eight hundred miles, Lieutenant Scales's regi- 
ment was ordered to Richmond in December, and about the 
1st of January, 1863, was assigned to Brigadier-General Pryor, 
commanding forces on the Blackwater. While here, the battle 
of " Kelly's Farm," near Suffolk, occurred, in which the 54th 
took conspicuous part. In March, 1863, the regiment went 
again to the department of East Tennessee, arriving at Knox- 
ville early in April, and remained in that vicinity during a 
greater part of the summer, occasionally repelling raids. Was 
also at Tullahoma when it was evacuated by the Army of 
Tennessee. 

In August, 1863, the forces occupying the Department of 
East Tennessee were organized into a corps, and placed under 
the command of General S. B. Buckner. From this time the 
54th Virginia became a part of the Army of Tennessee. 

At the battle of Chickamauga, Lieutenant Scales distin- 
guished himself by conspicuous gallantry. He was at that 
time acting adjutant of his regiment, and continued to do so 
until the following November, when, upon the resignation of 
his captain, he was promoted captain of Company " H," 54th 
Virginia Infantry. This position he held until the close of 
the war. 

Captain Scales was present at the battle of Missionary 
Ridge, and bore a conspicuous and gallant part in trying to 
avert the disaster of that day, and afterwards in covering the 
retreat to Dalton, Georgia. 

At the reorganization of the army, by General Johnston, in 
the spring of 1864, the 54th Virginia was thrown into Hood's 
Corps. The retrograde from Dalton to Atlanta was almost 
one continued battle. The 54th Virginia lost heavily both at 
Resaca and New Hope Church. In all the series of engage- 
ments in which Captain Scales participated during this cam- 
paign, his comrades attest that he bore himself as a true and 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN. 463 

brave soldier. Taking part in the arduous and disastrous 
campaign made by General Hood into Tennessee during the 
winter of 1864-65, he was taken sick, and received a furlough 
at Tupelo, Mississippi, in February, 1865. For four long years 
he had been a brave and faithful soldier, uncomplaining mid 
the heat of summer and cold of winter, unflinching in the 
storm of battle and the weariness of the march, and now, 
when rest, bitter as it was, was coming to his worn-out com- 
rades, he falls a prey to the insidious attack of disease. Soon 
after he reached his home he became a confirmed invalid, 
phthisis pulmonalis of an exaggerated character having been 
induced by the hardships and exposure he had undergone. 
Lingering until the 9th of November, 1866, he died, aged 
tv^enty-four years. 

From boyhood his distinguishing traits were independence 
in thought and action, being always governed by a high sense 
of honor in his intercourse with his fellow-men. 

Captain Scales was always a favorite with his comrades-in- 
arms, and had the unlimited confidence of his superior officers. 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN, 

OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA ; FIRST LIEUTENANT, ARTILLERY, P. A. C. S. 

IN MEMORIAM. BY DR. SAMUEL SELDEN. 

I. 

I would that I a fitting wreath could twine, 

Or from my cypressed lyre could wake a strain, 
Worthy of thee whom in our hearts we shrine, 

The first among thy ancient city's slain ! 
Although thy sun ere noon in darkness set. 

In night whose shadows deepen with the years, 
A rosy light, thy memory lingers yet. 

Thy name yet dims fond household eyes with tears. 
With wing to dare and win the noblest height, 

A lofty spirit, blending strength with grace, 



464 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Stricken while soaring in thy sunward flight ; 

In life's Olympic foremost in the race, 
Smitten, alas ! the goal and crown in sight, 

The flush of victory upon thy face ! 

II. 

The gilded chronicles of old Romance 

A nobler type of manhood do not yield ; 

A braver, truer knight ne'er clasped a shield, 
Or poised and shivered in crusade a lance. 

Though dark the Providence which laid thee low, 
Ere yet thy panoply was fairly on, 

Which smote thee with most unexpected blow. 
Thy knighthood's golden spurs were grandly won ! 

When battle marred thy visage, sealed thine eyes, 
And stilled fore'er thy young and dauntless heart. 

We bowed all dumb before Heaven's mysteries ; 
But standing by thy grave, the tears will start. 

As through our brain rush tender memories 
Of what thou wast, and what, alas ! thou art ! 



The name of Selden is familiar to the student of the annals 
of the Colony and Commonwealth of Virginia. The family- 
settled on the Peninsula in the seventeenth century, and to this 
day the virtues, worth, and learning of Parson Selden are tradi- 
tionally recalled in Hampton, of which parish he was rector. 

The subject of this memoir, William Boswell Selden, im- 
mediately descended from the churchman we have mentioned, 
was the son of Dr. William Selden, of Norfolk, in which city 
he was born on the 27th of June, 1837. In person he was 
.about five feet eight inches in height, of a slender but com- 
pact figure. His features were aquiline, his complexion dark^ 
his eyes and hair black, his brow cut as with a chisel, and his 
face full of power and acuteness. And young as he was at the 
date of his death, it was impossible to observe him without re- 
alizing the fact that he was a man of great force of character, 
earnestness of purpose, and vigor of understanding. His early 
instruction was received at the Norfolk Military Academy, 
from the lamented Strange, under whom he acquired consid- 
erable proficiency in French, Latin, and mathematics. In 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN. 



465 



1853 he matriculated in the Virginia Military Institute, where 
he was graduated in 1856 with considerable distinction, taking 
the second place in mathematics in a class of high standing 
and fine attainments. On leaving Lexington, at the age of 
twenty, he decided to devote himself to the profession of en- 
gineering, for which his proficiency in mathematics and draw- 
ing gave him a special fitness. His first service in this pursuit 
was under Colonel Trimble, of Maryland, afterwards a distin- 
guished general in the Confederate Army. This was of brief 
duration, but short as his association with Colonel Trimble 
was, he returned from his surveying expedition with the most 
flattering testimonials as to his intelligence and assiduity in 
the discharge of duty from the chief of his party, with 
whom it was his fortune, a few years later, to be brought 
in contact on a strangely different theatre of action. His 
second professional employment, which was of a tempo- 
rary nature, on the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad, again 
brought him in contact with a man destined to play a con- 
spicuous part on the stage where the young engineer himself 
appeared for a brief season in the attitude of a hero. In 1857 
he obtained a position under Colonel Walker, on a public im- 
provement in Missouri, where he remained until the comple- 
tion of the work on which he was engaged. On the dissolu- 
tion of his party he returned home a second time, improved 
in health, enlarged in professional attainments, and indorsed 
by high encomiums from the distinguished engineer under 
whom he had served for a period of two years in the trans- Mis- 
sissippi. His next employment was in locating the Western 
North Carolina Road, as assistant engineer, under Mr. Turner. 
For more than a year he was occupied on this work, which 
penetrates a wild and beautiful region, not inappropriately 
called the " Switzerland of America." During the greater 
part of this period he lived in the bivouac, and though natu- 
rally of a delicate constitution, the active exercise he took, and 
the pure atmosphere he breathed, gave an uncommon degree 
of vigor to his slender figure, and a bodily health which defied 
exposure. By this time the storm which soon broke on the 



466 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

country with such disastrous fury had fairly gathered in the 
sky, and attracted his notice. How intelligent this was is 
shown by his letters, written at that time, in which he pointed 
out the admirable training which he was then undergoing to 
fit him for the life of a soldier, which he adorned for a brief 
space, and from which he was snatched in the midst of actions 
of self-sacrificing valor. From this field of duty, which his 
penetrating mind had rightly foreseen was to prepare him for 
other work than that of his peaceful profession, he returned to 
Norfolk. This was in the winter of 1 860-61, and he remained 
under the paternal roof until President Lincoln published his 
memorable proclamation, which was practically a declaration 
of war between the two alienated sections of the country. 
This event found the subject of this sketch a man in age, sin- 
gularly well qualified for the profession of arms, to which he 
determined at once to devote himself as an act of duty. His 
education and pursuits had fitted him fully in body and mind 
for his new sphere of action. He was strong and active, 
though slender; his mind was well cultivated, enlarged by 
study, and instructed in the minute details of military life. He 
knew how to obey with dignity, and understood the art of ex- 
acting obedience without tyranny. His character was marked 
in its energy and devotion to duty, and under his modest ex- 
terior, rendered still more attractive by his truth and candor, 
he concealed the fires of an ardent temper and a knightly 
courage, which latter qualities shone out with a fatal splendor 
at Roanoke Island, where he fell. Add to these acquirements 
of education, and qualities of mind and character, habits of 
irreproachable morality, and we have before us the portrait of 
a man prepared for a large share in affairs, whether amid the 
vicissitudes of war or the routine of peace. Three days after 
the proclamation of President Lincoln appeared, he was 
actively engaged -in the capture of the naval magazine and 
the removal of its valuable munitions. This was the begin- 
ning of hostilities at Norfolk, and immediately thereafter Gen- 
eral William B. Taliaferro, afterwards a distinguished officer 
under the lamented Jackson, took command of the forces at 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN, 467 

that place. The retirement of the expedition under Commo- 
dore Paulding, after the destruction of the navy-yard, was the 
signal for active defensive preparations on the part of the mili- 
tary authorities of the State, and Colonel Andrew Talcott was 
assigned to the duty of fortifying Norfolk. To him young 
Selden reported, and was ordered to erect a work at Fort 
Nelson, more commonly known as the Naval Hospital. Soon 
after this he was placed in charge of Fort Norfolk also, with 
the temporary rank of first lieutenant of engineers, under 
General Walter Gwyn, who had been placed in command of 
the department by the Government of Virginia. Lieutenant 
Selden then applied to the authorities at Richmond for a com- 
mission in the engineer corps, and with characteristic modesty 
aspired only to have his provisional rank confirmed, though 
his friends were justly of opinion that his attainments war- 
ranted his application for a higher grade. His commission 
when sent to him was that of second lieutenant, and although 
hurt at this disregard of his claims, which had been mod- 
estly put, he preferred to remain silent and achieve rank, 
rather than resort to family influence or political aid. When 
General Lee visited Norfolk, in the early summer of 1 861, on 
a tour of inspection, he directed a work to be thrown up be- 
tween the head-waters of Tanner's and Broad Creeks to cover 
the approach to the city from the east. To this duty Lieu- 
tenant Selden was assigned. He surveyed the ground with 
great dispatch, and prepared his plan of a field-work, which 
on being examined in Richmond by the engineer-in-chief, was 
approved, and returned without alteration. The erection of 
this work, two miles in extent, occupied him during the sum- 
mer, and when completed received the special approval of Gen- 
eral Huger, then in command, and that also of his old friend 
Colonel Trimble, chief engineer of the department, whom he 
there met on the new theatre to which they had both been 
transferred by the changed aspect of affairs in the country. 

Nor in the melancholy progress of events was other tes- 
timony to Seluen's skill wanting. When General Wool 
marched through the formidable work of which we speak to 



468 JNSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

take possession of Norfolk, after its evacuation in May, 1862, 
he surveyed it with professional approval, and was heard to 
declare that, with five thousand troops, it could be held 
against an army fifty thousand strong. This fact, added to 
those previously mentioned, shows that we have not indulged 
the language of conventional praise in speaking of the skill 
displayed by Lieutenant Selden as an officer of engineers. 
But, returning to our narrative, we resume it at a point which 
still further illustrates the justice of our criticism. Shortly 
after the inspection of this work, Colonel Trimble was pro- 
moted brigadier, and assigned to more active duty. He 
immediately applied for Lieutenant SeLden as engineer on 
his personal staff, but the War Department referring the 
application to General Huger, that officer refused to concur 
in the request, and the ambition of the young soldier was 
thwarted by the appreciation of his commander. Roanoke 
Island having become an object of some solicitude. Lieu- 
tenant Selden was sent to that post, with instructions to 
complete the very imperfect works by which it was defended. 
Here, as the successor to several engineer officers who had 
preceded him, he found himself in a field full of the most 
serious difficulties. The importance of the position seemed 
to be unknown in Richmond, though earnest representations 
of its value and exposed condition, from the inhabitants of 
Eastern North Carolina, at last compelled attention to its 
state. The force holding the island was never adequate in 
drill, discipline, armament, works, or munitions to the respon- 
sibility devolved on it ; and here, in a full appreciation of 
these facts, Lieutenant Selden went manfully to work. He 
was surrounded by the most depressing circumstances. He 
iacked everything necessary to the execution of his task save 
skill and energy, but these could not create implements, nor 
impress the Department with the importance of the position. 
But, with such means as he could command, he labored to 
complete the defenses of the position, — with what result, in 
part, the resistance of Fort Barton to the enemy's entire 
squadron can best answer. It was while engaged in this task 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN. 469 

that he received from the Confederate Government his com- 
mission of first lieutenant of artillery, with assignment to duty 
as an engineer. In letters written at this period, he expressed 
confidence that his water batteries, with proper armaments 
and garrisons, could successfully dispute the approach of the 
enemy's flotilla ; but, at the same time, expressed his appre- 
hension that the Federals, by landing an infantry force on the 
south side of the island, might turn our works, and by the 
passage of a swamp, relied on for protection, destroy or cap- 
ture the Confederate force, which had no means of retreat 
from its insular post in the event of a disaster. To guard 
against this danger, he proposed a plan for an intrenchment 
to connect Fort Barton with the work at the isthmus, leading 
through the morass, where the decisive fight really occurred ; 
but the commanding officer, relying on the supposed natural 
strength of the position, did not agree with Selden on the 
importance of establishing this new line of defense. The re- 
sult unhappily vindicated the sagacity of the engineer, and 
established by a serious disaster the overweening confidence 
of his superior. When General Wise took command of the 
district, he sent an engineer officer to take charge of the 
works, and thus relieved Selden of his painful responsibilities. 
He might then li^ave left the fated island, for the wretched 
climate and bad rations had inflicted on him the scurvy ; 
but, animated by patriotic earnestness of purpose and profes- 
sional pride, he remained to participate in the battle which 
was then impending. Two days before this occurred he took 
charge of a six-pounder bronze gun, — one of the three field- 
pieces with which Colonel Shaw was provided, and in that 
time gave his gun detachment of raw troops such instruction 
as they were capable of receiving. 

On the 7th of February, 1862, the enemy began his attack, 
by a furious cannonade from his fleet on Fort Barton. Tiiis 
work was gallantly held by Captain John S. Taylor, who 
afterwards fell at Sharpsburg, and Captain Benjamin P. 
Loyall, both of whom had served in the navy of the United 
States. The enemy failed to silence the fort as he had ex- 



470 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



pected, and withdrew from the attack in the afternoon. That 
night Burnside landed some fifteen thousand men at Ashby 
Harbor, at the south end of Roanoke Island. At seven o'clock 
on the morning of the 8th they commenced their attack on 
the work commanding the main road, penetrating the marsh 
already referred to. The Confederates held this with three 
field guns, commanded respectively by Schermerhorn, Lover, 
Kenney, and Selden, supported by four companies of North 
Carolina troops and three of Wise's Legion. For more than 
four hours this handful of men held the enemy's heavy masses 
in check, inflicting on them losses which were never fully re- 
ported. Here Lieutenant Selden exchanged the calm delib- 
erations of the engineer for the vigorous action of the officer 
of the line. He fought his gun with a skill and rapidity 
which at every fire swelled the loss of the enemy to a more 
ghastly total. His service of this piece was marked by deadly 
precision of aim and reckless personal exposure. At eleven 
o'clock the youthful hero fell, shot dead on the parapet, to 
which he had leaped to mark the effect of the last shot ever 
fired by his hand, and to observe the position of the enemy. 
Thus, in the twinkling of an eye, a career which promised to 
be so splendid came to a premature and lamentable end. His 
was the fall of the young falcon, speared on the beak of the 
quarry in its first swoop! The Prologue was noble; the 
Tragedy sudden and severe ! Of the disaster of that day we 
have nothing more to add, save in recording the fact that, 
soon after Selden fell, the enemy verified his apprehensions, 
penetrating the swamp, as he had foreseen, by which move- 
ment the defeat of the Confederates was accomplished. 

The portrait we have painted of the gallant dead has been 
drawn with historic soberness and truth ; but if, perchance, 
there should be those who may think that the fancy of the 
artist has warmed our picture, we invite them to turn with us 
to the following testimonial of its fidelity. From the report 
of the committee of the Confederate Congress " On the Fall 
of Roanoke Island," we take the following extract : " Of the 
engineer department, Lieutenant Selden killed, who had 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN. 



471 



patriotically volunteered his services in the line, and was 
assigned to the command of the six-pounder, which he han- 
dled with so much skill as to produce immense havoc in the 
enemy's ranks, and to elicit the unbounded admiration of all 
who witnessed it. Unhappily, however, that gallant officer 
received a rifle-ball in the head, and he fell without a groan. 
The loss of the enemy was, in killed and wounded, at least 
nine hundred men, and the probability is, much greater," In 
addition to this testimonial to his conspicuous gallantry. 
Colonel Shaw, who afterwards fell on another field, wrote, 
under date of February 24, 1862, to the father of Lieutenant 
Selden as follows : 

" Dear Sir, — Circumstances beyond my control have pre- 
vented my addressing you at an earlier day, and giving ex- 
pression to my sorrow on account of the death of Lieutenant 
William B. Selden, your brave and noble son. On the ap- 
proach of the enemy, he volunteered his services to me in any 
way in which I could make them useful. Knowing him to be 
well skilled in the practice of light artillery, I assigned him to 
the command of a six-pound field-piece, which, from the com- 
mencement of the action, at seven o'clock a.m., to the moment 
of his fall, he handled with a skill and intrepid spirit which 
elicited the admiration of all who witnessed his conduct. For 
hours, calm and undaunted amid the storm of deadly missiles, 
he stood by his piece and hurled destruction among the 
enemies of his country, till at length the fatal ball was sped 
which deprived you of a son of whom you may well have 
been proud, and the country of a patriotic and brave soldier- 
I know, my dear sir, that no word which I, a stranger, can 
utter will be capable of alleviating the deep grief which you 
must feel in the loss of such a son ; but let me say, he fell in 
the discharge of a high and sacred duty, and, falling as he 
did, has inscribed his name imperishably on his country's 
history. 

" ' How sleep the brave who sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes blest ! 



472 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Here Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the sod that wraps their clay; 
And Freedom shall awhile repair 
To dwell, a weeping hermit, there.' 

" Having known him well, observed his gallant bearing 
during the whole time he was in action, and witnessed the 
manner of his death, I can fully appreciate your loss, and 
sympathize with you and his fond mother in your sad be- 
reavement. With sentiments of high regard, I am, 
" Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

"(Signed) H.M.Shaw, 

^'Colonel, Zth North Carolina State Troops." 

If we desired simply to illustrate the superb courage which 
young Selden displayed on the day of his heroic fall, we 
might rest content with the production of the testimony of 
his commander ; but, in order to show more fully, and on the 
testimony of an officer of acknowledged ability, the peculiar 
force and energy of his character, we copy the following 
extract from a letter written by Commander Benjamin P. 
Loyall, Confederate States Navy, who distinguished himself 
in the successful defense of Fort Barton. "I was," writes this 
gentleman, "on the island for more than four weeks before 
the attack, and during that time was in intimate association 
with Willie, and had the satisfaction of watching the assiduity 
and earnestness of at least one man in the prosecution of duties 
burdensome and of the highest importance. This in the face 
of difficulties almost insurmountable. At the eleventh hour, 
he found that men high in office began to look to Roanoke 
as an important and threatened point, while he had been fruit- 
lessly endeavoring for a long time to accomplish all that they 
expected him to do in a time which rendered it impossible 
and absurd. The details of his work you of course are some- 
what aware of, and I assure you that nothing but a faithful 
and self-sacrificing devotion to the welfare and success of our 
country's cause would have made him proceed in his profes- 
sional work. But in spite of all disadvantages, — hampered 



WILLIAM B. SELDEN. 



473 



by stupid orders and restrictions, — he did nearly all that was 
done to place the island in some condition of defense. As 
soon as the presence of the enemy was known, and the ques- 
tion reduced to the arbitration of the sword, he threw aside 
his books, and drew his own with a will worthy of his trust 
and faith in our right. He offered his services to command a 
six-pound field-piece, which was placed in the embrasure of a 
small breastwork which was believed by all but Jduiscif to 
command the only road through a deep swamp. After a day's 
bombardment of a battery in which I was serving with others, 
I was so much interested in the land defense that I rode down 
to the intrenchment, and there found Willie trying to get some 
rest by his camp-fire while the rain poured down in torrents. 
It was a gloomy night, to be followed by a deadly struggle 
with an enemy whose force was not known. They had landed 
on the afternoon and during the night of Friday, the 7th of 
February. Yet Willie was hopeful of being able to defend the 
position, and conversed with me with the greatest interest about 
the action with the fleet, and the endurance of the battery, the 
most important parts of which he had himself constructed. 
He spoke, too, with great intelligence, of the manner in which 
he intended to handle his piece. I left him hopeful and con- 
tent, aye, eager to commence the battle. 

" Saying adieu to him on Saturday morning at two o'clock, 
my duty called me to assist in serving the heavy artillery in 
the battery on the Sound, but from my position I could dis- 
tinctly hear the attack of the enemy's infantry at 7 a.m. I can- 
not imagine a fiercer or more incessant fire thdn was kept up 
for nearly five hours, and the roar of Willie's gun was listened 
to by all of us with great admiration and belief that it was 
making great havoc in the enemy's ranks. I have been as- 
sured by all who saw him, that his spirited and fearless con- 
duct gave animation and encouragement to all around him. 
But the deadly fire of his gun drew upon him the fire of a 
thousand rifles, and about 1 1 A.m. he jumped on the banquette 
to observe the position of the enemy, when he was laid low, 
as if by a stroke of lightning, the ball entering just below the 



474 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



cheek-bone and passing out behind his ear. He did not 
breathe a moment nor speak a word. I was told by the 
senior colonel [Shaw] that his death seemed the signal of 
defeat, for in less than thirty minutes the position was turned 
by the flank and a retreat ordered. On Sunday, the day after 
the fight, I, in company with John S. Taylor, obtained permis- 
sion to sfo down to the scene of action and search for Willie's 
body. I had a coffin made, and we had no difficulty in finding 
the body, which we were forced to place in the narrow box as 
we found it. With our own hands we dug his grave and marked 
it, as we preferred to have no assistance from the enemy's 
hands, which perhaps we might have gotten. With one accord 
he was pronounced the hero of the battle of Saturday, and the 
enemy's losses (nine hundred and ten killed, wounded, and 
missing) bear witness to a severe struggle. If it be a conso- 
lation to us to know that those who fell in this war have the 
patriot's death, you may feel assured that none have died 
more nobly than your son. I grieve at his loss, but with all 
my heart honor his memory. I took the precaution to cut a 
small lock of his hair, which I inclose to you in this. I offer 
my heartiest condolence and sympathy. May God sanctify 
to you all this your irreparable loss ! With my kindest re- 
gards to your family, I remain, with much respect, 

" Yours very truly, 
" (Signed) B. P. Loyall." 

There are other letters from which we might quote to show 
his steady devotion to duty, and the remarkable coolness, 
courage, and skill displayed by the young hero in his first 
and last battle. From many other sources we have collected 
testimony to his conspicuous gallantry, and as an evidence of 
the fatal accuracy of his fire, we may mention a fact narrated 
by one who participated in the fight. To this gentleman 
Selden remarked, as a Zouave regiment advanced to the 
charge, that he would reserve his fire until he could bring 
down the officer leading them, a lieutenant-colonel. This, in 
fact, he did, and with the fall of their commander the column 



^. H. SIMPSON. 



475 



broke and retired. Another officer who was present declared 
that he considered him the bravest and coolest man he had 
seen during the war; and to show that this personal daring 
was associated with a penetrating mind, we may mention the 
fact that when Stonewall Jackson was ordered to Harper's 
Ferry, in the beginning of the war, he said to his father that 
he would prefer to serve under him to any other officer in the 
army; that he had studied him well while a cadet at the In- 
stitute, and that he had all the elements of character necessary 
to make a great and successful soldier. But broad and keen 
and comprehensive as his mind was, the noblest and most 
attractive feature in the life of young Selden was his steady, 
systematic, and undeviating devotion to the idea of duty. In 
this he resembled the great leader whose immortal name has 
gilded with imperishable glories the cause in defense of which 
William Boswell Selden laid down his life. His remains 
were generously restored to his family by General Burnside, 
and sent home in care of Dr. Cole, of the Confederate army, 
when all that remained of the youthful hero was deposited in 
the family vault at Cedar Grove Cemetery amid the tears of 
the community, which recognized in his person its first costly 
sacrifice to our fruitless struggle for independence. 

James Barron Hope. 



R. K. SIMPSON, 

OF WARREN COUNTY, VIRGINIA; MAJOR, 17TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Robert H. Simpson was born July 26, 1826, near Front 
Royal, Warren County, Virginia. He was the third son of 
Samuel Simpson, who spent almost half a century in the in- 
struction of youth, and was well known as a most successful 
and popular teacher. His mother was the eldest daughter of 
Hon. Jared Williams, who was for a number of years member 
of Congress from the Frederick District of Virginia. 



476 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

The subject of this notice was endowed by nature with 
talents of no common order, and a wonderfully retentive 
memory. His parents were in straitened circumstances, 
owing to heavy losses as security for friends ; and thus an 
early struggle with poverty better prepared him to fight the 
battle of life. Even in childhood his habits were grave, 
serious, and correct ; his discharge of duty conscientious and 
complete. 

He attended school in Front Royal, where his diligence, 
strict adherence to rules, and rapid progress made him a 
favorite with his teachers ; while his courage, kindness of 
heart, and high sense of honor rendered him no less popular 
with his schoolmates. Some of the friendships then formed 
remained unbroken through life. His fondness for study was 
remarkable. When other children of his age were engaged 
in childish sports, he would generally be occupied in reading 
histories, biographies, travels, etc. For novels he cared but 
little. Each year added new treasures to this store, until he 
developed into one of the best informed men of his section. 

Another marked trait of character was his devotion to 
home. His local attachments were very strong, and clustered 
in their fullest warmth around the old family homestead. 
Each rock, tree, and flower there was dear to him, and in 
after-life he made many sacrifices to prevent its falling into 
the hands of strangers ; and when upon his death-bed, away 
from home and kindred, his heart fondly turned to the home 
of his birth, with a longing for one more glimpse of the blue 
mountain beneath whose shadow his youth had passed, and 
where he now sleeps beside a gallant younger brother, who 
fell at second Manassas. 

In July, 1842, he entered the Virginia Military Institute, 
and in 1845 graduated with distinguished honor, standing 
fourth in a class of twenty. His own inclinations and the 
wishes of his friends now pointed to the study of law, as best 
suited to his mind and attainments. But he felt he was 
needed at home : his parents were old and infirm ; his 
younger brothers and sisters yet to be educated; and, acting 



R. H. SIMPSON. 



A77 



from this sense of duty, he banished from his mind all antici- 
pations of eminence in the profession he would have chosen; 
and, in two months after his graduation, he entered upon the 
arduous duties of a teacher's life, to which duties he devoted 
himself entirely and successfully until l86i, when new and 
sterner duties called him from them and from his home. 

The first rumor that Virginia had seceded closed his 
school-room, and placed him at the head of his company, the 
" Warren Rifles," with which, in advance of orders, he pro- 
ceeded to Winchester, on the morning of April 17, 1861, 
and there reported for duty, being among the first, if not the 
very first company, to enlist in Virginia's service in this hour 
of her trial, — a step which neither Captain Simpson or his 
gallant company ever regretted. Moving on to Charlestovvn, 
he there awaited the arrival of other companies, and with 
them, at dawn the following day, entered Harper's Ferry, 
while the fires kindled by Government employes were still 
burning. Soon after this he was ordered to Alexandria, in 
charge of certain military stores for troops at that point. 
Passing by his home, he and his company were enthusiasti- 
cally received, and presented with a beautiful flag by the 
ladies of Warren. The pledges there made of unswerving 
fidelity to the cause "now lost," were never forfeited by him- 
self or men. Remaining in Alexandria until its evacuation, 
he fell back with the other troops there stationed to Manas- 
sas, where his company became a part of the 17th Virginia 
Infantry, a regiment which subsequently earned an enviable 
reputation on many a hard-fought battle-field. 

On the 1 8th of July, 1861, Longstreet's Brigade, of which 
the 17th Regiment was a part, was stationed at Blackburn's 
Ford, on Bull Run, and fought the battle of that name. Here 
Captain Simpson and his company were under fire for the first 
time, — and though this battle was but a skirmish as compared 
with many fought afterwards, it demonstrated that these men 
had in them that sterner metal which makes the genuine 
soldier. 

Longstreet's Brigade was not actively engaged in the battle 



4/8 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



of July 21, though Captain Simpson and his company had a 
sharp skirmish with the enemy on the west side of Bull Run. 

From this time until the evacuation of Manassas, Captain 
Simpson bore his part in the duties of army-life incident to 
that period of the war, and proceeded with the army under 
General Johnston to Yorktown. At the battle of Williams- 
burg, May 5, 1862, the brigade, then commanded by General 
A. P. Hill, bore a conspicuously gallant and effective part, 
in which Captain Simpson fully shared, his company losing 
heavily, he himself making a narrow escape, a ball striking 
one of the centre buttons of his coat, and glancing, passed 
through his clothing, inflicting a slight flesh wound upon his 
right breast and side. 

At the bloody battle of Seven Pines, Longstreet's old 
brigade, here commanded by General J. L. Kemper, was 
again in the hottest of the fight, charging over the enemy's 
works and through the magnificently equipped camp of 
Major-General Casey. Here the enemy's fire was very de- 
structive, ending the career of many a gallant soldier. The 
loss in Captain Simpson's company was again severe, and he 
made another narrow escape, receiving a slight flesh wound 
in the left arm near the shoulder. After this battle the 
brigade remained in camp near Richmond until General Lee 
inaugurated that splendid campaign which drove McClellan 
from the Peninsula. During it. Captain Simpson and com- 
pany were under fire at Gaines's Mill and Malvern Hill, but 
not actively engaged, except at Frasier's Farm. This battle 
was opened by Kemper's Brigade, without support on right 
or left. Charging for nearly a mile through wood and swamp, 
they encountered a very heavy force of infantry, lapping and 
extending to their rear on either flank, with twelve twelve- 
pound Napoleons in their immediate front. Yet, such was the 
impetus of this charge, that these guns were taken. But now 
there was poured upon this isolated brigade so terrible a con- 
centric fire from front, right, and left, and soon from the rear 
also, that it became impossible to hold them, and the brigade 
was forced to retire, having sustained a terrible loss. Captain 



i?. H. SIMPSON. 



479 



Simpson, with seventy other officers and men of his regiment, 
were captured. While this brigade was here in great part 
sacrificed, it was not in vain. It exhibited an example of fear- 
less courage, developed the enemy's position, and enabled 
General Lee to form his lines and achieve another brilliant 
victory. 

Captain Simpson was imprisoned at Fort Warren, where he 
was well treated, and exchanged just in time to assume com- 
mand of his company at the second battle of Manassas, where 
it was again his fortune to be in the thickest of that fight, and 
where again his loss was heavy, including a brave younger 
brother, a member of his company. Captain Simpson was 
himself severely wounded, and could not rejoin his command 
for some months, and hence was not present at the battles of 
South Mountain and Sharpsburg, where his company bore 
their accustomed gallant part, though that short five months' 
campaign from Williamsburg to Sharpsburg had reduced their 
numbers to three or four men and not one unwounded officer. 
In October, 1862, Captain Simpson was promoted major of his 
regiment. Colonel Corse having been promoted to a brigadier- 
generalship, a new brigade was formed for him, of which the 
17th, his old regiment, became a part, and was attached to 
Pickett's Division. This division, at Fredericksburg, was in 
line and under fire, but not engaged. The winter of 1862 was 
passed in winter quarters near Guiness's Station. In the follow- 
ing spring it formed a part of the command under Longstreet 
which invested Suffolk. During this investment, Major Simp- 
son, in command of his regiment, had a sharp skirmish with a 
force of cavalry and infantry nea/ White Marsh, and partici- 
pated in a subsequent spirited fight between White Marsh and 
Dismal Swamp, where an attack of the enemy was repulsed 
with considerable loss. 

When Longstreet retired from Suffolk, Corse's Brigade 
acted as rear-guard. Arriving last at Richmond, it was occu- 
pied for a week or more, after the army had started upon 
its northern campaign, in watching raiding parties of the 
enemy between Richmond and Gordonsville. Then starting 



48o INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

northward, it proceeded as far as Winchester, where it was 
halted to await the arrival of the army, then in retreat from 
Gettysburg. From Winchester General Corse was ordered 
eastward to occupy Manassas and Chester's Gap, in the Blue 
Ridge. The 17th Regiment was ordered to Manassas Gap. 
Moving in that direction, it encountered the enemy's cavalry 
in force some four miles west of this Gap, when there occurred 
one of the most disproportioned and spirited fights of the war, 
during which the enemy were driven some two miles in the 
direction of the Gap. In this fight Major Simpson lost his 
horse, but was soon remounted upon one captured from the 
enemy. The 17th held the enemy in check where they had 
been driven until next morning, when, Longstreet's Corps 
having passed through Chester's Gap, it was relieved by 
troops from another corps and rejoined its division. Soon 
after the division's arrival at Petersburg, General Corse's Bri- 
gade was ordered to Saltville to protect that point from a 
threatened raid of the enemy. From thence it was ordered 
into East Tennessee, where for a month or more it re- 
mained under the command of General Sam. Jones, who was 
in charge of that department, having occasional skirmishes 
with the enemy. The brigade then returned to Virginia, 
and, soon after arriving at Petersburg, the 17th Regiment was 
ordered to the Black Water line, and remained there during 
most of the winter, going into winter quarters at Ivor Station. 
In February, 1864, the regiment rejoined the brigade, which, 
during the winter, had been with Longstreet in Tennessee, 
and with it proceeded to North Carolina, and became a part 
of the forces there operating under General Hoke. Was 
present and bore its part in the investment of New Berne by 
that officer, previous to which, however. General Corse's 
command drove a force of the enemy from their camp on 
Bachelor's Creek, capturing a number of prisoners and large 
supplies. Butler's appearance between Richmond and Peters- 
burg put an end to this investment when everything was about 
ready for an attack, and caused a hasty move of General Hoke's 
whole command northward. During this entire period, sub- 



R. H. SIMPSON. 481 

sequent to the fight at Manassas Gap, Major Simpson was with 
his command. Upon arriving in Virginia, the 17th and 30th 
Virginia Regiments were ordered to Ameha County to arrest 
the progress of General Kautz, then raiding in that direction. 
Two companies of the 17th Regiment were stationed at the 
raih'oad bridge across Flat Creek, on the Richmond and Dan- 
ville Road ; our company, the Warren Rifles, in command of 
Captain Simpson's gallant successor, Captain F. W. Lepew, at 
a county bridge across the same stream some four hundred 
yards above the railroad bridge. This stream is narrow and 
deep, with no ford in that locality. Major Simpson was in 
command of these three companies. About dawn of the fol- 
lowing morning, General Kautz, with his cavalry and a battery, 
sought to force a passage across this county bridge, which 
had boarded sides, and during the night had been barricaded 
with rails about its centre. The bluff was on the side of the 
enemy's approach, and down it the road had worn into a kind 
of gorge. General Kautz made repeated charges down this 
gorge and upon the bridge ; but each time thirty rifles, in the 
hands of Blue-Ridge mountaineers familiar with their use from 
childhood, poured upon him their deadly fire until, finally, he 
sought an exit some other way, in doing which he was met 
and roughly handled by General Hampton. We doubt if such 
disproportion in numbers existed in any other successful fight 
during the war. The enemy's killed, wounded, and captured 
numbered more men than were engaged upon the other side, 
though a number of that other side here fought their last 
fight. On the following day, this company was drawn up in 
front of the regiment and publicly complimented by its com- 
manding officer. The following Christmas brought them a 
more substantial compliment from the ladies of Amelia, in the 
shape of a bountiful supply of creature comforts for the inner 
man. In the enjoyment of this latter compliment Major 
Simpson did not live to participate. Two days after this fight, 
at the battle of Drewry's Bluff, where Butler was so badly 
whipped. Major Simpson, while in the successful charge upon 
the enemy's works, received a ball through his knee, fracturing 

31 



482 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



the bone so badly as to necessitate amputation from this 
wound. He died in Richmond, on the 9th of June, 1864, 
mourned by all who knew him. His devotion to the Confed- 
erate cause never wavered for a moment, and his faith in its 
ultimate success was undimmed at his death ; and it may 
have been well that he was spared the heart-burnings felt by 
his old company and comrades at Appomattox. 

Major Simpson, though dead, has left behind him an envi- 
able reputation. As a man, he was high-toned and honorable ; 
as a friend, steadfast and true; a devoted son and brother; a 
faithful, able, and gallant soldier, fitting up to the full stature 
of a genuine manhood. His life is a record of unswerving 
integrity, strict adherence to duty, unflinching courage, and 
refined affection. He died as he lived, in the performance of 
what he believed was right; and this very hastily-written and 
imperfect sketch does his memory but poor justice. 

Smith S. Turner. 



HENRY GOODRIDGE SPEED, 

PRIVATE, 1ST NORTH CAROLINA CAVALRY. 

Henry Goodridge Speed, youngest son of John Joseph, 
and Anna Strachan Speed, was born at Roseland, Granville 
County, North Carolina, August 19, 1845. He received his 
primary education at the " Belmont Select School," and in 
1862 entered as a cadet the Virginia Military Institute. The 
•writer of this notice, then on his way to the Institute, met 
:Speed for the first time at Lynchburg, and traveled with him, 
and many others who were hastening to become " Rats," to 
Lexington. Speed was the life and soul of the party, ready 
and anxious for any adventure which promised fun and amuse- 
,ment, and provided there was a little danger so much the better. 
When we arrived at Lexington, as a matter of course we be- 



HEXRY GOODRIDGE SPEED. 



483 



came legitimate prey for the old cadets ; many of whom im- 
agining that a residence of twelve months at the Virginia 
Military Institute supplied all deficiencies of mother wit, 
would, upon the announcement of the arrival of a new cadet, 
immediately proceed to his quarters to amuse themselves with 
his greenness. Many of those who came to Speed on this 
occasion for wool went away shorn. So brilliant were his 
repartees, and so confounded his would-be tormentors at 
having the tables turned upon them in this unexpected and 
unprecedented manner, that we, his more timid comrades, 
escaped with comparatively slight punishment. He became 
at once a universal favorite, and when, at the end of a year, 
he severed his connection with the Institute, there was not a 
man in the battalion who was not distressed at his going. 
After leaving Lexington, he joined the 3d Virginia Cavalry, 
and in the spring of 1864 was transferred to the 1st North 
Carolina Cavalry. On the 21st of August, 1864, in an engage- 
ment at Poplar Spring Church, near the Petersburg and Wel- 
don Railroad, he received a shrapnel-shot in his heart, and 
his spirit took its flight for the happy mansions prepared by a 
kind and merciful Father for those who die in defense of the 
Right and of Truth. 

One of his last acts is illustrative of his character; his appli- 
cation for leave of absence had been approved, and he was 
preparing to visit his friends and relations at home, when a 
comrade received information that his wife v/as at death's door, 
urging him to come at once if he would see her alive. Speed, 
with his usual generosity, immediately gave his furlough to 
his comrade, and it was whilst serving in this comrade's stead 
that he met his death; thus crowning a life of honor and 
nobility with an act of which an angel might be proud. 

He was recommended for promotion, but was killed before 
he could receive the fruits of his gallant conduct on many 
a hard-fought battle-field. 

Three bosom friends left the Virginia Military Institute 
together, gallant, noble, chivalrous. Charlie Haigh died lead- 
ing his regiment to victory at the battle of the Wilderness ; 



484 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

his peer, Gardner McCance, manfully serving at his piece, 
sank to rise no more, and Henry Speed, whilst serving for a 
friend, received a bullet through his heart. 

Freely, cheerfully, and without a murmur, gave they their 
lives for what they thought the " right." 

"Their praises will be sung 
In some yet immoulded tongue, 
Far on in summers that we shall not see." 

In the veins of Henry Goodridge Speed there mingled 
some of the best blood of Virginia and North Carolina, and 
who can say that his ancestors were not honored by their 
descendant? Had it been the wish of his Almighty Father 
that he should have lived a longer life, the man would have 
proven worthy of the youth. 

Peace be to thy ashes, noble, generous Henry Speed ; no 
truer knight ever buckled on armor or laid lance in rest than 
thou ; long will it be ere the flowers of our dear Southern 
clime cease to bloom o'er thy grave ; and long, long will it be 
ere thy virtues are forgotten by thy friends. 



FRANCIS W. SMITH, 

OF NORFOLK, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT-COLONEL OF ARTILLERY. 

Francis Williamson Smith, eldest child of James Marsden 
and Anne Walke Smith, of Norfolk, Virginia, was born in 
that city, November 12, 1838. His paternal grandfather, 
Francis Smith, Esq. (from Lancashire, England), emigrated to 
Maryland before the Revolution (in which struggle he sided 
with the colonists), and afterwards removed to Norfolk, where 
(in 1 799) he married Anne, daughter of James Marsden, of the 
Marsdens of Manchester, England. Their son, James Marsden 
Smith, married Anne Walke, daughter of Thomas Williamson, 



FRANCIS W. SMITH. 485 

of Norfolk, whose father was of " The Brook," Henrico County, 
Virginia, and from this marriage came the subject of this 
notice. His childhood passed eventless in the quiet of home, 
not without indications, such as children give, of the quickness 
of mind which he afterwards showed. Of this whole home- 
life, we here say no more than that its atmosphere of calmness 
and love gave free scope to the boy's powers, and permitted 
his nature to develop itself freely, — a thing always of perma-. 
nent influence in moulding men's characters. In 1847 he 
entered the Norfolk Academy, where he received his prepara- 
tion for college. The Academy (which has played a not un- 
important part in the educational history of the old city) was 
at that time under the control of Mr. F. W. Hopkins, a man of 
considerable mental culture and force; but he resigning soon 
after, the principalship of the school passed into the hands of 
Mr. John B. Strange,* who was an able teacher, and had much 
to do with forming the youth of that generation. The cur- 
riculum of the academy was extensive and the instruction 
accurate. 

In mathematics (Mr. Strange's department), pupils went 
through with the differential and integral calculus ; in the 
ancient languages (under Mr. R.,B. Tschudi, since deceased), 
there was a thorough study of Juvenal, Tacitus, Homer, and 
Sophocles, according to the (somewhat defective) system then 
prevalent; the English branches were faithfully taught by 
Mr. G. W. Shepfield, assisted by Mr. (now Reverend) Robert 
Gatewood ; and French by a cultivated Frenchman, M. Mar- 
nin ; and later by M. Odendhal. The pupils were organized 
into a military corps, to which instruction was regularly given 
by Messrs. Strange and Gatewood, and which attained a 
creditable skill in manoeuvring. 

* Mr. Stranj^e, who was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, after- 
wards removed to Charlottesville, and then to Gordonsville. When the war 
began he was made lieutenant-colonel of the 19th Virginia Regiment, became 
colonel in 1862, and was killed while gallantly leading his men in an engage- 
ment during the retreat from Maryland, 1862. Many of his old pupils and 
friends will join the writer in paying this tribute to him, as faithful teacher, 
brave soldier, and true-hearted man. 



486 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Young Smith took position immediately on entering the 
Academy as one of its best students, and annually carried off 
the highest honors of the school. The examinations, held 
annually in February, were intended to be serious and real, 
and were in fact momentous occasions to the youth destined 
to exhibit their attainments to the admiring or pitying public. 
The elite of the city assembled to witness this annual trial of 
sons and brothers, and the failures or successes were gen- 
erally known and discussed. 

Colonel Strange was inexorable in laying bare the intel- 
lectual structure of his pupils, and had what they regarded as 
the very bad habit of calling on gentlemen in the audience 
without premonition to conduct the examination, — selecting, 
for example, one who had made his studies in Paris to ask 
questions in French, and the author of a work on analytical 
geometry to elicit the facts of that branch of mathematics 
from the hapless youth engaged with it. 

The delivery of prizes at the end of the week was neces- 
sarily a grand affair, the first-prize boy occupying for the time 
the position of senior wrangler at Cambridge, and being the 
hero of the occasion. This honor fell five successive years to 
the subject of this notice, a«id he left school in 1853 justly 
rewarded as one of the most brilliant boys who had ever gone 
from it. 

In July of this year he became a cadet of the Virginia Mil- 
itary Institute, at Lexington, and though very young (under 
fifteen), entered the third class without difficulty, and grad- 
uated (in 1856) with the first honors of the institution, his 
class number being 2412.4, while the cadet standing next to 
him received but 2096. During his last year here he was 
appointed an acting assistant professor. 

From the Institute he went to the University of Virginia 
(October, 1856), and graduated the first session in Greek, 
Latin, mathematics, and natural philosophy. The next ses- 
sion he took the remaining schools necessary to the degree 
of master of arts, and would undoubtedly have passed the 
degree examinations but for a severe attack of typhoid fever. 



FRANCIS IV. SMITH. 487 

which obh'ged him to relinquish his studies. Virtually he 
achieved the University master's degree in two years, a per- 
formance the infrequency of which sufficiently attests its diffi- 
culty. 

In 1858 he went to Europe, in company with his uncle, 
General F. H. Smith, Superintendent of the Virginia Military 
Institute, and, after a general tour of five months in England, 
Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, through 
the kindness of his friend, Hon. John Y. Mason, then Minis- 
ter of the United States at the Court of Paris, obtained from 
the French Minister of Instruction a permit to enter the en- 
gineering school, — L'Ecole Imperiale des Fonts et Chaussees. 
He had already been designated as Professor of Applied Me- 
chanics in the Virginia Military Institute, and these studies 
were entered on by way of preparation for this position. 
Though interrupted after he had pursued them one year, they 
served a purpose of which he had no thought at the time. 
The course of instruction in this celebrated school is one of 
the most thorough in the world. The session begins in 
November and ends in April, and during the intervening 
time, from April to November, students are required to travel 
and examine bridges, railroads, and at the opening of the 
session in November to lay before the board of instructors 
the results of their observations, each in 2i Journal dc voyage. 
The matter thus presented forms in part the basis of instruc- 
tion for the session. The number of members of the school 
is limited, and applicants are required to be graduates of the 
Polytechnic School at Paris, or to have equally good prepa- 
ration. Mr. Smith was examined by the instructor-general 
of the school on analytical geometry, calculus, mechanics, 
architecture, and chemistry, and would have been admitted 
as full member, but preferred entering as a foreigner (though 
he thus forfeited the right to a diploma), inasmuch as he 
could thus accomplish the course in two years, the ordinary 
time being three years. He attended the first year's course, 
comprising railroads, common roads, applied mechanics, 
bridges, mineralogy, and political economy, at the expiration 



488 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of which (1859) he was called home by a domestic affliction, 
and never returned to the school. 

On reaching Virginia he was elected Assistant Professor of 
Mathematics in the Military Institute of that State, and en- 
tered on the duties of the position, which, however, he did 
not retain long. The same summer he was induced to accept 
the Professorship of Chemistry and Mineralogy in the " State 
Seminary of Learning" of Louisiana, being made at the same 
time commandant of the corps of cadets, with the rank of 
major (the school being a military one).* He entered on his 
new duties in January, i860 (having first gone to Paris to select 
topographical and mathematical plaster casts), and remained 
till the secession of Virginia (April, 1861), when he resigned, 
and went first to Montgomery, Alabama, to tender his ser- 
vices to the Confederate Government. He resolved, however, 
soon after reaching Montgomery, to return to his native 
State, of whose forces General R. E. Lee had now been ap- 
pointed commander. Accordingly, the seat of government 
of the Confederate States having been transferred to Rich- 
mond, he repaired to that city, offered his services to 
Virginia, and received a captain's commission, with the ap- 
pointment of military secretary on General Lee's staff, the 
genefal's headquarters being then at Richmond. During 
this time General Beauregard made application to General 
Lee (in a letter dated June 20, 1861) to have Captain Francis 
Smith transferred to his command at Manassas, where (as he 
expresses it) "he might be very useful as a staff officer with 
me, or as a brigade inspector." General Lee did Captain 
Smith the honor to decline the offer, and retain him in his 
service. It was not until correspondence on the subject had 
ceased between Generals Lee and Beauregard that he knew 
of the attractive prospect that had been opened to him, and 
how narrowly he had missed sharing in the glory of the first 
great victory. In July of this year, having been recom- 

* At the same time, General W. T. Sherman was elected Principal and Pro- 
fessor of Engineering. When Louisiana seceded, he resigned and went to Ohio. 



FRANCIS W, SMITH. 489 

mended for promotion by General Lee, he received from 
Governor Letcher the commission of major in the Provis- 
ional Army of Virginia, and was attached to the 41st Virginia 
Regiment, then stationed at Norfolk. The following Novem- 
ber he was detached from his regiment, and sent by General 
Mahone to command the battery at Sewell's Point. This 
post, at the outer defense of Norfolk, was an important one. 
The battery consisted of thirty-six heavy guns, manned by 
four artillery companies,* with the 41st Regiment (about 
eight hundred men) as infantry support, the whole under the 
command of Colonel Chambliss. The position was exposed 
to constant fire from the shipping which lay in Hampton 
Roads, as well as from the battery on Fort Calhoun (Rip 
Raps) ; and this desultory combat was kept up till March, 
1862, when the Confederate steam-ram Virginia attacked the 
United States steamer Minnesota, and the ships Congress, 
Cumberland, and St. Lawrence. 

The brilliant victory of the Virginia is too well known to 
call for description here. The Sewell's Point battery took 
part in the conflict, and by its fire disabled the United States 
steam-frigate Roanoke, which was advancing to the assistance 
of the Federal fleet. The next month (April) the evacuation 
of Norfolk was determined on, and the work of dismounting 
guns commenced. Before the preparations were completed, 
however, information of the intended movement was given 
the enemy by a deserter, and fire was opened on the battery 
(May 7) by the Monitor and a frigate, backed by a large 
fleet, which kept just out of range of the Confederate guns. 
Though the best guns had been removed, the garrison, under 
Colonel Chambliss, returned the enemy's fire with spirit, suc- 
ceeding barely in making indentations on the casing of the 
Monitor, which lay at the distance of fourteen hundred yards, 
and unable to reach the other vessels. During the bombard- 
ment the men's quarters were riddled by balls, and the 



* Norfolk Blues, Captain Grandy; Manchester Artillery, Captain Weisiger; 
Raglan Guards, Captain Manning; Southampton Artillery, Captain Kretlow. 



490 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



major's quarters set on fire, and the proximity of the fire to a 
magazine rendered it necessary to remove the ammunition to 
another, under a continuous cannonade. Finally, the ap- 
proach of the Virginia from the navy-yard at Gosport forced 
the attacking fleet to withdraw. Throughout the engagement 
Major Smith directed his command with a cool intrepidity 
which won for him the respect of the men, and heightened 
the confidence which his military skill and firm discipline had 
previously produced. Before the evacuation of Norfolk, not 
having been re-elected by his regiment in consequence of his 
detachment from it, he had tendered his services to General 
Mahone as volunteer aid, and he now accompanied him on 
the retreat, and served with him in the battle of Seven Pines 
and on the Chickahominy. 

Here he remained till June 22, when he received a commis- 
sion as major in the Confederate States army. He requested 
permission to report to General Jackson, but was ordered to 
Drewry's Bluff, where he remained till June, 1864, under the 
immediate command of a naval officer, Captain S. S. Lee. 

His earnest wish to be with General Jackson, founded not 
only on the prospect of brilliant service under that com- 
mander, but also on his affection for his old instructor, led 
him to make a second application for transfer, in March, 1863, 
which was also refused. Again, after the battle of Chancel- 
lorsville (May, 1863), he made an effort to exchange com- 
mands WMth an old friend and comrade who commanded an 
infantry regiment, and who felt at the time physically unequal 
to the march into Pennsylvania. The Department declined to 
permit the exchange, and in three weeks from that time his 
friend fell on the battle-field in the first engagement in the 
enemy's country. Other like attempts to produce a transfer 
failing, Major Smith remained in command of the batteries 
at Drewry's Bluff, having under him a battalion of four com- 
panies.* During his stay here of two years there was no 



* Norfolk United Artilleiy, Captain Kevill; Johnston's Artillery, Captain 
Eppes ; Neblitt's Artillery, Captain Coleman ; and one company of the South- 
Side Artillery, commanded successively by Captains Jones and Drewry. 



FRANCIS W. SMITH. 



491 



general engagement. On the 5th of May, 1864, thirty-four 
gun-boats came up the river and landed three or four regi- 
ments, which advanced as if to attack the works. 

The whole care of the defense devolved on Major Smith, 
who arranged his small force so as to cover the entire line of 
breastworks. The enemy, however, did not attack. 

This was Butler's first demonstration on the South-Side 
(May 6). A {c\w days after (May 10), a severe battle was 
fought, in which our forces at first drove the enemy, and then 
coming on their breastworks, were obliged to retire with loss. 
Then followed a long stay in the trenches under heavy fire of 
artillery. Altogether, the responsibility resulting from the 
importance of the post, and the continual possibility of attack, 
made the service an arduous and wearing one, and the com- 
mandant's physical system was, perhaps, more severely taxed 
than it would have been in a more active field. 

In June, 1864, he was ordered to erect batteries at How- 
lett's Farm, opposite Dutch Gap, where General Burnside 
had entrenched himself. Here he had under him four bat- 
teries and six companies, his immediate commander being 
General Pickett. At this post the service was hard. The 
rations which Government was able to provide were insuffi- 
cient in quality and quantity, and Major Smith would not 
fare better than his men. There was, however, no lack of 
cheerfulness in the camp. He had gone there resolved, as 
he says, to make the place a desirable one. The society was 
pleasant; he speaks in the highest terms of the soldierly and 
gentlemanly qualities of the commanding general. Moreover, 
the activity of the enemy relieved the garrison from fear of 
stagnation. In the month of June, General Butler made his 
most serious advance on Richmond on the South-Side. At 
the beginning of the movement (June 16), Major Smith was 
enabled to render an important service to his commanding 
officers. General Pickett had been directed to hold the line, 
supported by Longstreet's Corps under General R. H. Ander- 
son. The two generals, making a reconnoissance with a long 
cavalcade of staff officers, under the volunteered guidance of 



492 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Major Smith, who knew the country, and it being necessary 
to know where our line of skirmishers was, the major offered 
to ascertain, rode forward with his couriers, came upon a party 
in the woods whom he at first supposed to be our men, dis- 
mounted to examine them with his glass, soon discovered 
that they were enemies, and remounted and rode away under 
their fire in time to save Generals Pickett and Anderson and 
their staff from capture. The party in question formed the 
enemy's extreme left. In the engagement which immediately 
followed, his horse was killed, but he escaped unhurt. 

Some days later, the battery at Howlett's Farm was un- 
masked and did good service, damaging the enemy's fleet, 
with small loss to the garrison. The summer and autumn of 
this campaign were marked by frequent engagements of a like 
nature. In February of the next year. Major Smith had a 
gratifying recognition of the efficiency of his battery in the 
effort made by Colonel Anderson, of the artillery, to secure 
his promotion. This officer, though stationed on the opposite 
side of the river, marked him in a distinguished manner, and 
urged his promotion as strongly as he could under the 
circumstances, not being in the same immediate command 
with him. It was, however, not till two months later that he 
received his commission as lieutenant-colonel, just before the 
evacuation of Richmond. 

A {q\v days before the evacuation he obtained leave of ab- 
sence of several days, in order to remove his family to a place 
of safety. After he had escorted them as far as he could go, 
his anxiety in respect to his command caused him to return 
before his leave had expired. Saturday, April i, he crossed the 
swollen Chickahominy in spite of the remonstrances of persons 
present,* reached his command at daylight next morning, and 
on Monday, in obedience to orders, he joined the retreating 
column with his battalion, which he conducted as infantry. 
He had a presentiment that he would not live through the 
march. Physically, he was not in the best condition. His 



* A few hours later, the river had risen so that no one could cross. 



FRANCIS IV. SMITH. 



493 



service had been unintermitted : since February, 1862, he had 
never allowed himself a longer respite than four days, and his 
health was further impaired by insufficient nourishment. He set 
out on the march with the conviction that he would not survive 
a wound received under such circumstances, and on the morn- 
ing of Wednesday (April 5) he expressed (seemingly without 
depression) to a gentleman near him the belief that he would 
be killed that day. Towards the close of the day, at twilight, 
the command being then near Amelia Springs, a report of the 
advance of General Sheridan caused some confusion in the 
column ahead. Colonel Smith advanced with his battalion, 
and in the firing which ensued his horse was killed, and he him- 
self wounded in the groin and leg. He requested not to be 
left, and so traveled all night, his calm and cheerful tone pro- 
ducing on some of his men who were wounded at the same 
time the impression that his hurt was not very severe. This 
night march was no doubt injurious to him. When he reached 
Amelia Springs next morning, the surgeon who was with him 
told him there was no hope of life. The last hours he spent 
calmly, sustained by religious trust, in sending the last mes- 
sages to his family. At nine o'clock the enemy appeared, and 
his friends left him to join the retreating army. Some of his 
men remained, and ministered as they could to his comfort. 
At noon (April 6) he died. 

Thus was taken away one of the most brilliant and promis- 
ing of the sons of Virginia. Having everywhere distinguished 
himself, Colonel Smith might have hoped for a career of hon- 
orable usefulness. Soon after the war, before his death was 
known, the superintendency of the Louisiana State Military 
Academy was offered him. This position had been pressed 
on him during his stay at Drewry's Bluff"; but he would not 
leave the army. There and elsewhere was the prospect of a 
most successful professional career. Instead of such useful- 
ness and fame, he leaves us the heritage of his virtue and 
devotion to honor. 

Prof. C. H. Toy {In University llcniorial). 



494 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\ 



J. B. STANARD, 

OF ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " D," CORPS OF CADETS. 

Jaqueline Beverly Staxard was born in Orange County, 
Virginia, in 1845. In January, 1863, became a cadet at the 
Virginia Military Institute. On the nth of May, 1864, the 
corps of cadets received orders from General John C. Breck- 
inridge to form a junction with his forces near Staunton, for 
the purpose of checking the advance of the Federal forces 
under Sigel down the Valley. They did so. On Sunday, 
the 15th, the battle of New Market was fought, of which a 
description has been given in this book. In that battle seven 
of the brave boys from the Virginia Military Institute lost 
their lives. Stanard was one of these. Stricken down by 
the fatal ball during the advance of his command, he lived for 
some time. Sent messages to his mother, telling her "I fell 
where I wished to fall, fighting for my country, and I did not 
fight in vain. Tell my mother I die with full confidence in 
my God, — my loved ones must meet me in heaven." As 
he caught the distant cry of victory from our soldiers, his 
trembling soul breathed itself to rest in a fervent " Thank 
God !" 

The Avords of his companion and room-mate (Wise) beau- 
tifully portray his last hour: " He passed through 'the valley 
of the shadow of death' with a heavenly smile upon his face. 
Oh, may my last end be like his !" 

His body, buried at New Market, was removed after the war 
to the vault at the Virginia Military Institute, where it now 
lies with those of his companions who fell with him. 



EDWARD B. STARKE. 495 

EDWARD B. STARKE, 

OF NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA ; ADJUTANT, 7TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Edward B. Starke, son of W. E. Starke, of New Orleans, 
Louisiana, was born in 1S43. He entered the Virginia Mili- 
tary' Institute in 1859, ^"^ soon became a great favorite among 
his comrades, besides taking a good stand in his class, when, 
in April, 1861, Governor Letcher ordered the corps of cadets 
into service. Cadet Starke was assigned to duty as a drill- 
master at Culpeper. At the first battle of Manassas he vol- 
unteered, as was the case with all the cadet drill-masters then 
connected with the army, and fought with distinguished gal- 
lantry, receiving quite a severe wound. He was shortly after- 
wards appointed adjutant of the 7th Virginia Infantry, and 
served in this capacity until the day of the battle of Seven 
Pines, May 31, 1862. In that hotly-contested fight, he fell 
mortally wounded, leading on a company of his regiment 
which had faltered to storm the breastworks of the enemy. 
The members of the third class who went into the army with 
the corps in 1861 were prevented from resuming their studies 
by the demand for their services ; yet so signal were their 
services as officers and soldiers, that immediately after the 
war the Board of Visitors ordered that honorary diplomas be 
awarded them. But five of the bravest were gone, — Colonel 
Petway, Majors Latimer and Thompson, Lieutenants Johnson 
and Starke, all having laid down their lives before reaching 
manhood, save only one, ]\Iajor Thompson, and he was spared 
to pass his twenty-first year only to be killed in the last, hope- 
less hours of the retreat to Appomattox. Of this little band 
of boy heroes, none was better beloved, none purer or braver, 
than crallant Eddie Starke. 



496 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



BENJAMIN F. STEWART, 

OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; LIEUTENANT, 40TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

Benjamin F. Stewart, son of William P. Stewart, of Oak 
Grove, Westmoreland County, Virginia, entered the Virginia 
Military Institute on the 13th of October, 1853, in his six- 
teenth year. Graduated in 1857, ^'^"^ after teaching a year 
received an appointment as assistant professor of French and 
assistant instructor in Tactics at the Institute, and occupied 
this position until the beginning of the war. Entered military 
service as lieutenant in the 40th Virginia, and served with this 
command until the last year of the war, when he was killed. 



NOLAN STONE, 

OF NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI; SERGEANT, CO. " B," 1ST REGIMENT EN- 
GINEERS, A. N. v. 

Nolan Stone, sixth son of Dr. C. H. and Mary G. Stone, 
was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1845. In 1863 he left 
home to join the Confederate army, and was in service for 
a i^w months at Mobile, Alabama. During the autumn of 
1863 he received an appointment as cadet in the Virginia 
Military Institute, reported for duty in December, and con- 
tinued at the Institute until April, 1864, when he resigned for 
the purpose of entering the army. While a cadet he showed 
a great aptitude for languages and military tactics. 

Immediately after his resignation he connected himself with 
Co. " B," I St Regiment Engineers, A. N. V. Being young. Col- 
onel Talcott deemed it better to have him enrolled as a bugler; 
performing his duties promptly, he attracted the attention of 



NOLAN STONE. 



497 



Captain Baldwin of Co. " B," who, finding him an efficient 
drill-master, by special request had him appointed a corporal 
in his company. He was with his regiment during the whole 
of the campaign of 1864, and was highly esteemed for his 
strict attention to duty. In the fall of this year he was pro- 
moted sergeant, just after his company had been assigned to 
pontoon duty at Chaffin's Bluff, on James River. Having con- 
siderable skill in the management of boats, acquired during 
boyhood. Sergeant Stone was well fitted for this duty, and 
rendered distinguished service on several occasions when the 
bridges were washed away by floods. The first lieutenant of 
his company, Charles W. Babbit, says of him, — 

" He never shirked his duty by day or night ; was with 
his regiment during the memorable retreat from Richmond ; 
suffered and endured the privations of that week with all the 
fortitude of a good soldier. He was one of the detail who 
fired the stage-road bridge at Farmville, on the 8th of April, 
and was one of the eight out of twenty-six who reported back 
to duty on that morning ; was present next day at the surren- 
der, having the honor to be one of the eight thousand who 
followed their noble old commander to the end of the war. 
The Virginia Military Institute can proudly enroll his name 
in her Memorial." 

After General Lee's surrender, he found his way to Rich- 
mond, being in wretched health at the time. Here he met his 
eldest brother, Dr. Henry Stone, and together they worked 
their way to their home in Natchez. Broken in health, his 
body worn out with the arduous services he had undergone, 
his quick and sensitive mind crushed by many disappoint- 
ments in attempting to obtain employment, death came to rid 
him of trouble. He died on the 21st of January, 1867, with 
diphtheria, aged twenty-one years. He was living in Loui- 
siana at the time of his death, but was buried at Natchez, 
Mississippi. 

32 



498 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

- * 
JOHN B. STRANGE, 

OF FLUVANNA COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, I9TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

John Bowie Strange, son of Colonel Gideon A. and Har- 
riet J. Strange, was born in Fluvanna County, Virginia, in 
1823. His father served as captain in the war of 1812, and 
afterwards was an active justice of the peace in Fluvanna 
•County, which county he also represented for a number of 
years in the Virginia Legislature. 

On the nth of November, 1839, young Strange was sent 
to the Virginia Military Institute. In the first graduating 
■class of that school, 1842, he received his diploma as third 
distinguished graduate. In addition to this high standing in 
liis studies, he had attained distinction in the military depart- 
ment, being the first adjutant of the corps of cadets. 

After graduation Mr, Strange was for some years a pro- 
fessor of mathematics in the Norfolk Academy. Becoming 
eventually principal of that school, he gained for it great repu- 
tation, placing it at the head of the academies and high schools 
in the State. Between 1854 and 1856, Professor Strange 
founded the Albemarle Military Institute, which he conducted 
with great success until the inception of hostilities in 1861. 

Having been, in 1859, appointed brigade-inspector of the 3d 
Brigade, 2d Division, Virginia militia, composed of the regi- 
ments in the counties of Amherst, Nelson, Albemarle, Flu- 
vanna, Louisa, and Goochland, he was prepared at the moment 
Virginia assumed a hostile attitude to take up arms. Ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel of the 19th Virginia Infantry in 
April, 1861, immediately after the ordinance of secession, and 
soon afterwards promoted colonel, he was stationed with it at 
Culpeper Court-House, and was occupied in drilling and pre- 
paring this regiment for service until ordered on to Manassas, 
just before the memorable battle of July 21, 1861. In this 
battle Colonel Strange fought gallantly, having already, in 



JOHN B. STRANGE. 499 

the words of tlie commanding general, Beauregard, "gained 
the reputation of being brave, intelligent, and faithful in the 
discharge of his duties." Stationed at Centreville, Fairfax 
Court-House, and Munson's Hill, until the army fell back to 
the Peninsula, Colonel Strange was engaged in many skir- 
mishes, but received no hurt. At Williamsburg his regiment 
captured the Excelsior Battery, belonging to Sickles's Brigade. 
In all the battles around Richmond, extending from Seven 
Pines to Malvern Hill, Colonel Strange fought with distin- 
guished gallantry. At second Manassas he commanded his 
brigade; passing over into Maryland then, he was for some 
time at Frederick City, Maryland, thence on with the army to 
Hagerstovvn; and at South Mountain, September 14, 1862, he 
fell mortally wounded, having previously in the same battle 
received wounds in his right foot and side, which had disabled 
him from keeping his feet, but which did not prevent his 
cheering on the noble men of his command. Calling to them 
to advance, the fatal ball passed through his heart, closing 
instantly his career of usefulness and dauntless bravery, in 
the thirty-fourth year of his age, after having passed unhurt 
through thirty-two pitched battles, besides numerous skir- 
mishes. 

His body fell into the hands of the enemy, and its resting- 
place was unknown to any of the family until several years 
after, when, through a lady who had cared for the grave, its 
locality was made known, and the body was moved by the 
Masons of Norfolk, Colonel Strange having been one of that 
order, to the cemetery at Charlottesville, Virginia. 

This very brief and imperfect outline of Colonel Strange's 
life cannot be better supplemented than by the following esti- 
mate of his character from the pen of his friend Colonel Ed- 
mund Pendleton, of Botetourt County, Virginia : 

" My acquaintance with Colonel John Bowie Strange com- 
menced on the I ith of November, 1839, when we reported for 
duty as cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, then about to 
commence its career as a State military school, under the con- 
trol of its able young superintendent, Colonel (now General) 



500 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Francis H. Smith, assisted by his devoted and distinguished 
coadj utor, Maj or (now Colonel) John T. L. Preston, as professor 
of modern languages. We were then boys of sixteen, of nearly 
the same age, of like temperaments and tastes, and were, there- 
fore, naturally and mutually drawn towards each other. We 
were from the beginning to the end of our cadet-life occupants 
of the same room, members of the same section, and in daily 
and intimate association. My opportunities for forming a cor- 
rect estimate of his character, moral as well as mental, during 
this period of his life, were therefore unusually good ; and it is 
a pleasant duty to me to record what I learned of him during 
the three years of our intimate association, ending on the 
fourth day of July, 1842, when we received our diplomas as 
graduates of the school. After that date our paths of life 
diverged, and I do not remember to have seen him but twice : 
once amid the storm of battle beneath the sulphurous canopy 
of Gaines's Mill, on the afternoon of June 27, 1862, as with 
flashing eye and gallant mien he led his noble regiment into 
the thickest of the fight, and once again, about ten days be- 
fore his death, in the early days of September, 1862, when 
chance threw us together for a half-hour during one of the 
brief intervals between the glorious victories of that memora- 
ble campaign, and when we were permitted, in a few burning 
words, to recall the pleasing associations of our youthful days, 
and mingle our hopes and fears for our beloved South. We 
then parted, with mutual embraces, to address ourselves to 
the stern duty of the hour, not without the presentiment that 
this might be, as indeed it was, our last meeting on earth. 

" If Thomas Carlyle's definition of a man of genius (namely, 
a man capable of taking infinite pains) be correct, then Colonel 
Strange might not inaptly be accounted a man of genius. 
Without being endowed with a poetic temperament or an 
affluent imagination, he possessed a vigorous understanding, 
clear faculties of perception and discrimination, strong logical 
power, and an unwavering love for the acquisition of knowl- 
edge. In moral qualities he stood pre-eminent. In that 
' chastity of honor which feels a stain as a wound,' in cool. 



JOHN B. STRANGE. 501 

dauntless courage amid dangers, in transparent truthfulness 
of soul unclouded by falsehood or deception, he was a very- 
Bayard. Even in his youth he exhibited, in a marked degree, 
a supreme and inflexible devotion to duty ; a moral attribute 
of the highest quality, rarely found in men even of mature 
character. In his tender infancy he had been deprived by 
death of the fostering care and watchful control of an affec- 
tionate father, and left to wander, without paternal guardian, 
among the pitfalls and snares which ever beset the path of 
youth. But, as when a tender vine is deprived of the support 
to which it has clung it sometimes is seen to develop a latent 
power of self-support, so the deprivation in his case seemed to 
strengthen and stiffen the tender elements of his moral char- 
acter, and made him brave, self-reliant, and independent. His 
first official act as a cadet was illustrative of these qualities. 
When, on the nth of November, 1839, the youthful band of 
raw and undisciplined cadets marched to the Institute hill to 
relieve the squad of soldiers under Captain David E. Moore, 
who had up to that time guarded the arsenal and other public 
property there, it fell to the lot of young Strange to be the 
first to go on post as a sentinel. I doubt if he had ever seen 
a soldier or held a musket in his callow hands before. The 
business was as new to his comrades as to himself, and of 
course he was the object of the careful observation of all. I 
well remember, as if it were an event of yesterday, how 
promptly and resolutely he obeyed the first order to duty, 
how impressed he seemed to be with the dignity of his new 
position, how erectly he held his musket with bayonet fixed, 
and how soldier-like was his posture. These things seem 
small in themselves, and yet they were the straws which indi- 
cated the course of the current ; the genuine symbols of his 
moral character. From the solid merits which he exhibited 
whilst I knew him so intimately I formed high expectations of 
his achievements in later life when his powers should be ma- 
tured. What they actually were rpust be told by those who 
knew of them. It is gratifying to me to know of this friend 
and companion of my youth, that when our native State called 



502 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



for her defenders, he was among the first to obey the sum- 
mons, and that though he fell, he fell at the post of duty, and 
sleeps in the honored grave of a soldier who died in defending 
the liberties of his country." 



WILLIAM D. STUART, 

OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA ; COLONEL, 56TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

William Dabney Stuart, the eldest son of Thomas Jeffer- 
son Stuart and Martha M. Stuart, was born in Staunton, Vir- 
ginia, on September 30, 1830. He was descended from a 
Scotch-Irish family, which settled in Augusta County in 1738. 
Their progenitor, Archibald Stuart, having been engaged in 
one of the rebellions in Ireland, was compelled to fly for 
safety to America. He remained secluded in the western 
part of Pennsylvania for seven years, when, in consequence 
of some act of amnesty, he was enabled to send to Ireland 
for his wife and children. Shortly afterwards he removed to 
Augusta, then a wilderness, and acquired large landed estates. 
Archibald Stuart died in 1761, leaving four children, viz., 
Thomas, Benjamin, Alexander, and a daughter, Mary, who 
married Benjamin Hall. This Benjamin Hall was the father 
of Judge John Hall, of North Carolina, and of Dr. Isaac Hall, 
an eminent physician of Petersburg. 

Alexander Stuart left a number of children, among them 
Judge Archibald Stuart, of Staunton, who was the grand- 
father of Colonel William D. Stuart. Another son, Judge 
Alexander Stuart, of Missouri, was the father of the Hon. 
Archibald Stuart, of Patrick, who was often in public life, as 
member of House of Delegates, State Senate, Conventions of 
1829-30 and 1849-50, and also served several terms in Con- 
gress. This Archibald Stuart was the father of General James 
Ewell Brown Stuart, commonly known from his initials as 
Jeb Stuart, the cavalry officer. 



WILLIAM D. STUART. 



503 



The father of the subject of this memoir, Thomas J. Stuart, 
was a man of fine abilities, and served frequently as a member 
of the Legislature from the county of Augusta. 

William D. Stuart received his early education at the 
Academy at Staunton, and at the age of seventeen, in July, 
1847, entered the Military Institute. In his studies here he 
distinguished himself throughout the course, standing third 
in his class on general merit when he graduated, July 4, 
1850. After his graduation he was appointed assistant pro- 
fessor in the Institute. While acting in this capacity he was 
closely associated with General T. J. Jackson, and a firm 
friendship sprang up between them, which continued during 
life. 

About the year 1853, Mr. Abbott, of Georgetown, D. C., 
who had been in charge of a large classical school in that 
city, died, and Mr, Stuart was invited by the patrons of the 
school to take charge of it. He accepted the appointment, 
and went to reside in Georgetown. Whilst there he formed 
the acquaintance of Miss Frances Harris, a native of Lou- 
doun County, and soon afterwards married her. The fruits 
of this union were three children, two daughters and a son. 
After spending two years in Georgetown, Mr. Stuart was 
invited to take charge of a classical school in Richmond, Vir- 
ginia. Desiring to return to his native State, he removed to 
Richmond, and continued in charge of a flourishing school in 
that city until the commencement of the war. 

In May, 1861, he was appointed first lieutenant in the Pro- 
visional Army of Virginia, and in the course of a few weeks 
promoted lieutenant-colonel in Colonel Thomas P. August's 
regiment. While he held the office of lieutenant-colonel the 
command of the regiment devolved on him, in a great meas- 
ure, as Colonel August's health disqualified him generally 
from active service. While in command of that regiment, 
he participated gallantly in the fight on the Peninsula, when 
Butler was repulsed at Big Bethel. 

When the 56th Regiment was formed, as it was made of 
companies and fractions of companies from a number of coun- 



504 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ties, Governor Letcher felt at a loss to select a colonel for it, 
and allowed the officers to designate the man of their choice. 
With almost perfect unanimity they chose Colonel Stuart, 
and he was appointed. He remained in command of that 
regiment until his death, and shared all its perils, and partici- 
pated in all its triumphs. 

It is proper to add that, when General Jackson was ap- 
pointed to his first command, he immediately wrote to 
Colonel Stuart, who was then in charge of his school in 
Richmond, offering him a place on his staff as quartermaster. 
In his letter he stated that he was sorry he could offer 
nothing better, but said that whenever an opportunity oc- 
curred he would look to his promotion. He further stated 
that, when he (Jackson) was called into service. Colonel Stu- 
art was the first man to whom he looked for assistance. 

After the battle of Antietam, in which Colonel Stuart had 
greatly distinguished himself. General Jackson was very de- 
sirous of having him promoted to the office of brigadier, and 
he would have received the appointment but for the fact that 
his health had given way under the exposure, privations, and 
fatigue of the first Maryland campaign, and he was compelled 
to go to his home in Staunton to recruit. The necessity for 
having a brigadier was so urgent, that it was indispensable to 
make the appointment before Colonel Stuart was sufficiently 
restored to take the field, and thus he failed to receive it. 

His military history, from the time of his recovery till the 
battle of Gettysburg, is simply that of the army of Northern 
Virginia. In this great battle, July i, 2, and 3, 1863, he was 
mortally wounded, was carried to Staunton, where he died in 
about three weeks. On the day of his burial a letter came 
addressed to him, the object of which was to ascertain whether 
his condition was such as to enable him to accept the office 
of brigadier-general, and enter at an early day upon active 
service. 

We close this meagre and imperfect sketch with an extract 
from a letter of his uncle, the Hon. Alexander H. H, Stuart. 
He says, — 



FRANCIS M. SUDDOTH. 



505 



" It only remains to say that a purer, braVer, nobler gentle- 
man never lived. I watched over him from his infancy, and 
if there was anything in his conduct or his character, from 
his childhood to his death, which was unbecoming a high- 
toned gentleman, I certainly never saw it or heard of it. He 
was universally esteemed and beloved, and, though a man of 
positive character, of high spirit, and outspoken, he had no 
enemies. He was to me almost as a son, and I shall never 
cease to mourn his untimely end. Had he lived, he would 
have established a reputation which would have been a rich 
legacy to his family," 



FRANCIS M. SUDDOTH, 

OF FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; ADJUTANT, 24TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

F. M. SuDDOTH, son of James F. Suddoth, of Morrisville, 
Fauquier County, Virginia, entered the Virginia Military In- 
stitute in August, 1852, and graduated in 1856, third distin- 
guished in a class of thirty-three; taught from this time until 
the beginning of the war, when he entered the army, and 
became the adjutant of the 24th Virginia Infantry. While 
stationed at Gloucester Point, in 1861, he became a prey to 
disease, and died before opportunity occurred for rendering 
active service. 



5o6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



R. D. B. SYDNOR, 

OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; SECOND LIEUTENANT, 
CO. "B," 40TH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Richard Downing Boardman Sydnor, the subject of this 
sketch, was born at Heathsville, Northumberland County, 
Virginia, on the 19th of November, 1842. 

He was the youngest son of the late Thomas S. Sydnor, a 
gentleman of wealth and standing, and was reared in ease and 
affluence. He enjoyed the advantages of good instructors, 
attending school at Northumberland Academy. 

He early showed a strong inclination for military pursuits, 
and, though unprepared, by appointment entered the United 
States Naval Academy at the age of fourteen years. His want 
of the requisite preparation was so great a drawback to him 
that he left that institution, and, after attending school in the 
county a year or two, he went to the Virginia Military Institute, 
where he graduated in 1862. The commencement of hostili- 
ties found Boardman at this school, and with other cadets he 
went to Richmond and for some time performed duty as drill- 
officer for the troops that were pouring into that city from 
every point. When his services were no longer needed there, 
with his friend and room-mate, Lewellyn Crittenden, he re- 
turned to his home in Richmond County, and the two volun- 
teered in the " Totuskey Grays," afterwards Company " B," 
40th Virginia Regiment. Boardman performed faithfully all 
the duties assigned him, and for the young soldier they were 
of no light kind, his regiment, during all of 1861 and part of 
1862, doing duty on the outposts on the Potomac, or about 
Fredericksburg. 

Of delicate constitution, he was attacked by typhoid fever, 
and for long weeks his life seemed to hang on a thread. He, 
however, rallied and returned to his command. Upon the 
reorganization of the army, he was elected second lieutenant 
of Company " B," his brother being captain. 



J?. D. B. S YD NOR. 



507 



He was yet in delicate health ; and, when it was thought 
that hostilities were about to commence on the Chickahominy, 
he left hospital in Richmond, where he had been staying, 
having the chronic dysentery, and at once rejoined his com- 
pany. 

In the fight at Mechanicsville, Captain Sydnor, Lieutenants 
Brockenbrough and Jones, of his company, all having been 
wounded, the command devolved upon Lieutenant Sydnor. 
And gallantly and nobly did he, a youth not yet twenty, dis- 
charge the duties of his position. 

In the charge upon the enemy's works at Gaines's Mill, the 
color-bearers of the 55th and 40th Virginia and himself were 
striving who should first reach the works, as they approached. 
" Hand me that flag," said he to the color-bearer of the 40th, 
Sergeant Yeatman ; " I want to plant it in the works !" " I'll 
put it there, sir," was the reply. At that moment a bullet 
struck the wrist of the color-bearer of the 55th, and the flag 
fell ; but ere it touched the ground, Lieutenant Sydnor had 
seized it, and, climbing over the very muzzle of the cannon, 
he entered first the enemy's works, planted there the flag, 
and received the surrender of several Yankee soldiers, one an 
officer. 

On Monday evening, June 30, in the dreadful charge which 
was so terrific in its list of mortality in the " Light Division," 
while leading on his men, as he mounted a fence, a bullet 
pierced his breast, and, still waving his sword, another struck 
him in the thigh, breaking the bone, and as he lay upon the 
ground, before he could be removed, a fragment of shell tore 
off the flesh on his hip. 

Thus suffering from three wounds, he was removed to 
Richmond, and though every attention was bestowed, though 
skilled surgeons exhausted their science, and fair women 
gently administered to his every want, he yielded to the fell 
conqueror as calmly as one who lies down to sleep, on Tues- 
day, July 22, 1862. 

Without a murmur or a complaint he bore the suffering; 
confidently he looked beyond the pains he had to endure 



5o8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

here, to a better land, where he should be free from them all. 
A member of his company, who was in almost every battle 
fought by the Army of Northern Virginia, said of him, that 
he was the bravest boy he ever saw. 

He sleeps in Hollywood ; and to his friends it is a sad 
pleasure to know that his grave is once a year decked with 
spring flowers by the fair daughters of the dear Old Dominion 
for whose honor and independence he laid down his life. 



W. H. TABB, 

OF PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, 1ST VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

W. H. Tabb, son of A. M. Tabb, of Portsmouth, Virginia, 
entered the Virginia Military Institute in August, 1857, but 
held his cadetship only for a few months. Entered service in 
1861, becoming a captain in the ist Virginia Infantry, and was 
killed in the battles around Richmond, in June, 1862. 



THOMAS S. TAYLOR, 

OF FRANKLIN COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; CAPTAIN, CO. " D," 24TH VIRGINIA 

INFANTRY. 

On the 4th of October, 1861, Captain Thomas S. Taylor, 
of Franklin County, Virginia, died of typhoid fever, near the 
Confederate lines of operations on the Potomac, in the twenty- 
fourth year of his age. Similar announcements, so common 
in that harvest of death, awakened, in many instances, but a 
sigh, to be silenced in the rushing tide of mighty events ; the 
dearest and bravest sinking to their last repose, while sur- 



THOMAS S. TAYLOR. 



509 



viving friends were only allowed to drop one tributary tear to 
their memories. 

The life and death of this extraordinary young man, how- 
ever, deserved at the hands of his friends more than a mere 
passing notice of his virtues. The unwritten history of such 
contains the gems that are brightest, though soonest dimmed, 
which that dark era in the chapter of human events evolved. 
It can be but deeply regretted that youth, genius, virtue, and 
hope, in fact, all that dignifies the human character and 
adorns life, should perish in the early dawn of rising aspira- 
tion. Yet such man finds to be his destiny " in the black- 
lettered list of ills" prepared for him, and he can only wonder 
at the mysterious dispensation of Providence, and silently 
reverence and adore this mighty power, humbly trusting that 
in the event all is mercifully ordered for his good. These re- 
flections, the purity of Captain Taylor's life, the philosophic 
firmness and Christian resignation with which he met death, 
could but soften the anguish felt by many stricken hearts that 
bemoaned his departure. They knew that their loss was his 
gain. 

Thomas Skelton Taylor, son of Christopher C. and Julia 
Taylor, was born in Franklin County, on the 19th of August, 
1 837. Manifesting at an early age uncommon promise, as soon 
as he arrived at the proper age he was sent to the Virginia 
Military Institute, matriculating on the 2d of August, 1854. 
Soon his position in that valuable school indicated that he was 
destined to occupy a high place in the great drama of life. 
He graduated on the 4th of July, 1858, and, the country being 
at peace, his attention was turned to the study of law. After 
spending some time at the school of Judge Brockenbrough, 
in earnest application to prepare himself for its practice, he lo- 
cated at Franklin Court-House, Virginia. Though he entered 
upon the practice of his profession at a very early age, and 
at a bar of much more than ordinary ability, yet his manly 
modesty, his attention to business, and the fine sense by which 
he was characterized speedily secured him the notice of the 
public, and began to throw into his hands a handsome share 



5IO 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



of professional emolument. He soon attracted the attention 
of a gentleman in the profession, much his senior in years, 
with whom he formed a partnership, upon highly honorable 
terms, by which his independence, at the very threshold of his 
professional labors, was absolutely secured. We hope it is no 
breach of decorum to allude to the tender regret with which 
his memory is cherished by the gentleman in question. It 
could not be otherwise, for he had a full and perfect view of 
the fine qualities by which the noble nature of his friend was 
adorned. A few months after his location at Franklin Court- 
House, General Hairston, afterwards Colonel Hairston of the 
C. S. A., was commissioned brigadier-general, under the reor- 
ganized militia system. Looking for the proper man to fill 
the position of brigade-inspector, young Taylor, then barely 
two-and-twenty, was selected. Though but a boy of slight 
form and of very youthful appearance, he entered upon the 
discharge of his duties in such a manner as to command the 
profound respect of men old enough and brave enough to be 
veterans in any service. During the winter of 1 860-61, when 
upon a second reorganization of the militia, with an eye to the 
portentious aspect of affairs. General Early received the com- 
mission of brigadier-general of militia, he reappointed Colonel 
TAYLOR'(to which rank he was then entitled) as his brigade- 
inspector. As the mighty events of that period were develop- 
ing themselves with wonderful rapidity, the patriotism and 
noble ambition of this young soldier were fully awakened. 
Very soon we find him exhorting his countrymen in pubhc 
speeches, and by his own example, to enlist in defense of the 
general welfare. In a few weeks a company is raised, of 
which he is unanimously elected captain, and at the head of 
which he takes up the line of march for the tented field. 

Here let us pause and reflect a moment upon the good 
fortune that has seemed to attend the subject of our memoir 
thus far, and upon the mutability of human affairs. Profes- 
sionally his prospects were bright; he was going into the field 
with a thorough military education, in command of as brave 
a company as the service could boast. Young life seemed to 



THOMAS S. TAYLOR. 



511 



woo him with her fairest visions. If he fell, he intended it 
should be at the post of duty and honor. If he was spared, 
numerous friends, he knew, there were gladly to greet him 
home, and a grateful public who had already perceived and 
acknowledged his merit, to award to him the meed of praise 
due those honors to which a high and generous soul like his 
might well aspire. But, alas! the promiseand the generous 
ambition are forever eclipsed in death, and the laurel blooms 
to be plucked by other and more fortunate hands. It is, how- 
ever, a consolation to know that while he lived he seemed to 
taste none of the bitters, but only of the sweets of life. 

Upon reaching Lynchburg, the place of rendezvous for the 
troops from his section of the State, his company was assigned 
to the 24th Regiment Virginia Volunteers, and immediately 
ordered to Ivlanassas, then the theatre of war. In the camp 
the manner in which he discharged his duties was fully attested 
by his superiors in rank, for upon being carried from his tent, 
after he became too ill to remain there longer, to the house of 
a kind and generous family, to whom he was unknown, they 
supposed, from the attention paid him by officers of high rank, 
that he himself was an officer of distinction. Such, if his life 
had been spared, he assuredly would have been. 

But his greatest glory, and the most conclusive proof of his 
fine sense and noble heart, is to be found in the benevolent, 
but just and firm course he adopted in the government of the 
men immediately under his command. No captain, in any 
army, ever united more skillfully the " fortiter in re" with the 
" suaviter in modo." The result was, he was almost idolized 
by his men. Confiding in his skill, his courage, and his kindly 
performance of duty, they would have followed him to the 
cannon's mouth, and have shielded him from danger with their 
own bodies. Had he been so fortunate as to have been in 
battle, he would certainly have distinguished himself During 
the battles of the 18th and 21st of July, his company was 
posted on the right. He remarked to a very intimate friend, 
" If the attack is upon this part of our lines, as soon as I get a 
chance I'll charge the enemy to his teeth; I'll win a general's 



512 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



belt or fill a hero's grave." Such, doubtless, was his purpose, 
for he was not given to vain boasting, and he would have said 
this only to a most intimate friend. The enemy, however, 
came not to the right, and instead of falling upon the field 
of battle, where he would have chosen to meet death, he was 
destined to give up his life to the ravages of a fatal disease. 
He suffered but little. Conscious of the near approach of 
his end, he spoke of death with the utmost composure, and 
expressed a firm reliance upon the promises and consolations 
of the gospel. He declared his willingness and readiness to 
die, and a trusting hope of salvation through the atoning 
merits of his Redeemer. Life's fitful fever over, he sleeps in 
the family burial-ground alongside of those he dearly loved. 



JAMES B. TERRILL, 

OF BATH COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; BRIGADIER-GENERAL, A. N. V. 

James Barbour Terrill, fourth son of William H. Terrill, 
was born near the Warm Springs, in Bath County, Virginia, 
on the 20th of February, 1838. His early education was 
such as was then usually obtained at the best primary schools 
of his county. In the year 1854 he was admitted as a cadet 
into the Virginia Military Institute, where he graduated in 
1858; immediately after which he entered the Law School of 
the Hon. John W. Brockenbrough, in the town of Lexington, 
and in the summer of i860 commenced the practice of law in 
the courts of his native county. In 1859 the Hon. Henry A. 
Wise, who was then Governor of Virginia, conferred upon 
him the appointment of major of cavalry. Whilst on a visit 
to his relations in the eastern part of the State, in April, 1861, 
the Convention of Virginia passed the ordinance of secession, 
whereupon he immediately dashed off to Harper's Ferry and 
joined the little army of Virginia which so promptly took 



JAMES B. TERR ILL. 513 

possession of that important post. He was occupied there in 
drilling both officers and privates for several weeks; after 
which he proceeded to Richmond, and tendered his services 
in the military department to His Excellency Governor John 
Letcher, then the patriotic, able, and efficient Executive of 
the State, who without unnecessary delay delivered to him 
the commission of major, and assigned him to duty in the 
13th Regiment Virginia Infantry, of which Lieutenant-General 
A. P. Hill was the colonel, General James A. Walker, lieuten- 
ant-colonel. 

Major Terrill, immediately after his appointment, pro- 
ceeded to join his regiment, which numbered at that time 
upwards of a thousand men. He soon, by his gallantry and 
general deportment, won the esteem and confidence of both 
officers and men of the command to which he was attached, 
and this feeling strengthened among them until the day of his 
untimely death. He acquired the reputation of being one of 
the bravest of the brave. His clarion voice, encouraging his 
men, was frequently heard above the din of battle ; and when 
asked by his friends (as he frequently was) how it was that 
he acted so fearlessly in time of action, his reply invariably 
was, " I never think on such occasions of being killed." He 
was with his brave regiment at the first and second Manassas 
fights ; first and second Fredericksburg ; at Cross Keys and 
Port Republic ; at Cedar Run and Slaughter's Mountain, in 
Culpeper County, Virginia. 

When General Lee invaded Maryland, Colonel Terrill 
(for he had held this rank since the promotion of Generals 
Hill and Walker) was left in charge of the post at Winches- 
ter. In this as well as in all the constant and active service 
in which he was engaged, during the whole course of his mil- 
itary career, he showed distinguished ability. So numerous 
were the engagements in which he and his gallant " old Thir- 
teenth" took part, that it would be next to impossible to 
specify them ; but it can be said with perfect truth that, when- 
ever he and they appeared on the field of battle, there was 
no " child's play," and little or no ammunition wasted ; and 

2>l 



514 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

just here it may be proper to state that the writer was in- 
formed by a gentleman who was present that the brave and 
gallant General Early, on the day of the first battle of Fred- 
ericksburg, remarked that "the 13th Regiment Virginia In- 
fantry was never required to take a position that they did not 
take, or to hold one that they did not hold." 

We come now to the closing campaign of Colonel Ter- 
rill's life. In the winter of 1863-4 General Lee's army was 
in winter quarters on the south side of Rapidan River, in 
Orange County, the Federal army, under Grant, holding the 
opposite bank, immediately in General Lee's front. In April, 
1864, began the great campaign of the war. In this campaign 
Colonel Terkill and the invincible 13th were destined to im- 
mortalize themselves. At the Wilderness and at Spottsylva- 
nia Court-House they crowned themselves with glory, as did 
many others of our " boys in gray." After the first-mentioned 
battle, they were in the front rank in the assault made upon 
the enemy to retake the position lost by the capture of 
General Edward Johnston's Division. Colonel Terrill was 
among the first to mount the breastworks abandoned by the 
enemy. 

Grant moving from Spottsylvania Court-House in the direc- 
tion of Richmond, General Lee, taking an inner line, threw 
himself in Grant's front, and offered battle at Hanover Junc- 
tion, which was declined. The Federal army continuing its 
move. General Lee forced them into battle at Cold Harbor, 
inflicting upon them terrible punishment. The general result 
of this notable battle belongs to history. We give only what 
relates to the last day in the life of the brave soldier whose 
name stands'at the head of this sketch. 

There is a place in Hanover County called Bethesda 
Church, some three or four miles below Mechanicsville, and 
probably about the same distance north of Cold Harbor. 
Near this church a detachment of Grant's army had taken 
position, and intrenched themselves. It was deemed expe- 
dient to dislodge them from these breastworks, in pursuing 
the plan of General Lee's movements, and General Ramseur 



JAMES B. TERR ILL. 515 

was intrusted with the duty. He, with Pegram's Brigade 
and some other Confederate forces, in the afternoon of the 
31st of May, 1864, commenced the assault, and was met by a 
tremendous and deadly fire from the enemy. The " old Thir- 
teenth" held their own in the charge, but their colonel fell 
mortally wounded at the first or second fire. Two other ofifi- 
cers commanding in succession Pegram's Brigade, to which 
the 13th was attached, being shot down in the course of a 
few minutes, the adjutant-general discovering Colonel Ter- 
RiLL upon his hands and feet struggling to rise, informed him 
that the brigade was without a commander, whereupon he 
rose to his feet, staggered along the line, took his position as 
commander of the brigade, waved his sword, and gave the 
command, " F'orward !" A moment more, and he fell dead, 
shot through the brain within a few feet of the enemy's 
breastworks. Immediately the attacking forces gave way, 
and retreated, after a fearful slaughter on their part. A de- 
tachment of the 13th, sent in after nightfall to recover General 
Terrill's body, were captured by the enemy, and it remained 
on the field for six days, with a slight covering of loose sand. 
When recovered, taken to the field hospital, and carefully ex- 
amined by the surgeons, they were all of the opinion that the 
first wound (that in the body) would have been necessarily 
mortal. What a thrilling yet melancholy spectacle was ex- 
hibited by him in his last moments, — a dying man leading a 
forlorn hope in battle ! 

It so happened that on the same day, and perhaps while 
General Terrill was engaged in that last of his many con- 
flicts with the enemies of his State and country, his nomina- 
tion as brigadier-general by the President wa's unanimously 
confirmed by the Senate of the Confederate States Congress ; 
but it is sad to think that he died without being aware of the 
tardy honor conferred upon him by a Government whose 
cause and whose existence he had so often periled his life to 
sustain. 



5i6 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\ 



C. W. TERRY, 

OF LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Charles W. Terry matriculated at the Virginia Military- 
Institute in July, 1859, being sent there under the guardian- 
ship of Mrs. M. M. Otey, of Lynchburg. Entered service in 

1 86 1, and was killed at the battle of Seven Pines, May 31, 

1862, in the nineteenth year of his age. 



LEWIS M. THOMAS, 

OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY; ASSISTANT ADJUTANT-GENERAL, 
STAFF GENERAL B. H. HELM. 

Lewis M. Thomas, son of John J. Thomas, was born in 
Christian County, Kentucky, on the 20th of June, 1839. 
During the spring of 186 1, being called by business to Vir- 
ginia, he went there for the purpose of transacting it. During 
his stay, the near approach of hostilities becoming evident, 
he determined to enter the Virginia Military Institute for the 
purpose of perfecting himself in the infantry drill, of which 
he already had some considerable knowledge. Entering the 
Institute in the latter part of May, 1 861, he remained for some 
months, and was then sent as a drill-master to the Valley of 
Virginia. While here. General Garnett appointed him aid-de- 
camp, with the rank of first lieutenant. During the retreat 
consequent upon the battle of Laurel Hill, Lieutenant 
Thomas was placed in command of the rear-guard of the 
retiring army, with instructions to hold the enemy in check 
as long as possible and at all hazards. Only one piece of 
artillery^ a twelve-pounder, was assigned him for this pur- 



LEWIS M. THOMAS. 517 

pose; but with this he was enabled to carry out his instruc- 
tions perfectly. While the enemy were chargin^r up the hill 
upon which he had taken position with his little band, the 
steepness of the declivity made it impossible to depress his 
gun sufficiently to bear upon the assaulting party. Seeing 
this, Lieutenant Thomas, his gun having been double-shotted 
with canister, with the assistance of three of his men, ele- 
vated the trail of the piece and fired. This shot created such 
havoc among the enemy that their advance was checked until 
time had been given to effect the retreat of the Confederates. 
But the brave men who had assisted Lieutenant Thomas lost 
their lives by the recoil : they could not, nor did they, ex- 
pect anything else. As if providentially, his life was saved; 
knocked senseless, he was carried from the field by his men, 
who supposed that he had been killed. But he had received 
no dangerous hurt: was simply stunned. Honorable mention 
was made of this circumstance in the official report of this 
campaign, and a captain's commission issued him for gallant 
conduct. Soon after this, at the request of Colonel (after- 
wards General) W. A. Quarles, Captain Thomas was trans- 
ferred to the Department of the West, and assigned to duty 
as instructor of tactics to the troops at "Camp Cheatham," 
Robertson County, Tennessee. After the organization of 
these troops, December, 1861, they were ordered to Clarks- 
ville, Tennessee. Captain Thomas went here with them, and 
was appointed adjutant of the post, which position he held 
until a few days before the battle of Fort Donelson, when he 
was left in command by General Floyd, with orders to super- 
intend the removal of a large quantity of provisions belonging 
to the Government which were stored at this point. Having 
sent off as much as he could obtain transportation for, he dis- 
tributed the remainder to the poor in the vicinity. Rejoining 
the army under General Albert Sidney Johnston, at Corinth, 
Mississippi, he took an active part in the battle of Shiloh. 
Immediately after this battle he was appointed assistant ad- 
jutant-general on General B. H. Helm's staff; but before he 
was enabled to enter upon his duties he was stricken down by 



5i8 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

typhoid fever, superinduced by exposure and the unhealthy 
position of the camp at Corinth. After a short ilhiess he 
died, on the 19th of May, 1862. 

Captain Thomas's career, though brief, — only six or eight 
months, — was one of great promise. He had evidenced his 
bravery as a soldier and his efficiency as an officer, and had 
been rewarded by such office as attested the approbation of 
his superiors and the confidence of his men. 



JAMES W. THOMSON, 

OF CLARKE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; MAJOR, HORSE ARTILLERY, ROSSER'S 
DIVISION, A. N. V. 

James W. Thomson was born at Berryville, Clarke County, 
Virginia, on the 28th of October, 1843. He entered the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute in i860, where his education was 
soon interrupted by the commencement of the late war. He 
promptly offered his services for the defense of his State, and 
was employed as drill-master until just prior to the battle of 
Manassas, in which he acted as volunteer aid-de-camp to 
General T. J. Jackson. For important service rendered in 
this action he received a flattering letter of recommendation 
from that general. In the fall of 1861 he was elected second 
lieutenant of "Chew's Battery" of Horse Artillery, and in 
February, 1864, succeeded to the command of the company. 
During the, same year, he was promoted, and commanded, 
with the rank of major, a battalion of horse artillery attached 
to Rosser's Cavalry Division until his death. 

Thomson was, by his early training and disposition, well 
fitted, even at the age of seventeen, when he entered the ser- 
vice, for the peril and hardships of a soldier's life. He was 
always devoted to out-door sports, and became, by constant 
practice, a perfect master of the horse. Tall and athletic^ 
with a nature bold and daring, frank and generous in disposi- 



THOMAS B. TREDWAY. 



519 



tion, — tliese qualifications, united to great physical strength 
and powers of endurance, presented a combination of soldierly 
traits possessed by few. As a commander of artillery, he was 
remarkable for the prompt and daring manner of handling his 
guns. When his guns were not in action, it was frequently a 
habit with Thomson to join in the cavalry charge, and on such 
occasions attracted attention by his dash and almost reckless 
gallantry. It was while leading charges of this kind that he 
was wounded in the arm, on the 5th of April, 1S65, and on 
the day following was killed. A gallant attack was made on 
this day by General Rosser upon a brigade of Federal infan- 
try, which had succeeded in gaining the front of Lee's army, 
near Farmville, and during the fight a charge was made by 
Bearing's Brigade. A desperate encounter ensued, resulting 
in the rout of the enemy, but at a great sacrifice of life ; and 
General Bearing, Colonel Boston, and Major Thomson all 
lost their lives. 

Major Thomson acted in this fight with conspicuous gal- 
lantry, and fell where he was always found when duty called, 
— at the head of the column. By his fall, his family and nu- 
merous friends sustained an irreparable loss, and his State was 
deprived of one of her most gallant sons. 

Colonel R. Preston Chew, 



THOMAS B. TREDWAY, 

OF PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VIRGINIA; SERGEANT, VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Thomas Booker Tredway, son of Judge William M. Tred- 
wa3% of the Fourth Judicial Circuit, was born in Banville, Vir- 
ginia, on the 13th of August, 1844. 

In the month of April, 1 861, being not quite seventeen years 
of age, he joined a volunteer company organized at Pittsyl- 
vania Court-House, where he then resided. This company, 



520 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

early in the next month, was ordered to Yorktown and at- 
tached to one of the regiments of Virginia infantry, under the 
command of General John B. Magruder, and remained in this 
department about twelve months. Young Tredway partici- 
pated with his command in all service during this period, 
acting gallantly in the battle of Bethel. 

In the spring of 1862 he was discharged from the army on 
account of his extreme youth, and sent to the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, at which school he remained until the spring of 
1863, when he rejoined his old company at Suffolk. Soon 
after his return he was made a sergeant in his company; with 
this company he served through the summer campaign of 
1863, and passing with it through into Pennsylvania, he was 
mortally wounded, and left on the field at Gettysburg, July 3, 
1863. Left alone, he soon died of his wounds, it is supposed. 
No tidings were ever received of him. 

He was not quite nineteen when he died, — not old enough 
to have accomplished a great deal ; death prevented the fulfill- 
ment of great promise. 



E. S. TROUT, 

OF STAUNTON, VIRGINIA; CAPTAIN, CO. " H," 52D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

The subject of this memoir, Captain Erasmus Stribling 
Trout (the eldest child of the Hon. Nicholas K. Trout and 
Matilda Stribling Trout), was born April 15, 1844. 

In early boyhood he attended the Staunton Academy, where 
he evinced a marked aptitude for the acquisition of knowledge. 
Subsequently he became a student of Mossy Creek Academy, 
where he prosecuted with commendable zeal and gratifying 
success the more advanced studies. He was only seventeen 
years of age when the late civil war occurred. With all the 
earnestness of his nature he became interested in the Confed- 



E. S. TROUT. 



521 



erate cause, and would at once have entered the Confederate 
army, but he was restrained by friends, who feared that his 
deh'cate constitution could not withstand the hardships and 
exposures of field-service. He was sent to the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute in 1861, with the view of completing his studies, 
and with the hope that the admirable physical training there 
enforced would render him somewhat robust. He remained 
at the Virginia Military Institute until the corps was disbanded, 
in July, 1 86 1. Without delay he attached himself to the 5 2d 
Virginia Infantry in the capacity of a drill-master, wherein he 
displayed great efficiency. 

He returned to the Virginia Military Institute in January, 
1862, when the Institute was opened by order of the Governor 
of Virginia, He was a member of the corps of cadets when 
the latter was ordered to march with General T. J. Jackson's 
army to Franklin. 

When he left the Vir-ginia Military Institute he entered 
the ranks of the 5 2d Virginia Regiment. Colonel James H. 
Skinner, then commanding, appointed him the sergeant-major 
of the regiment. "For conspicuous gallantry in the battle of 
Cedar Mountain," August, 1862, he was promoted to the rank 
of second lieutenant in Co. " H," 52d Virginia Regiment. 

After the battle of Sharpsburg he was further promoted to 
the rank of first lieutenant. During General T. J. Jackson's 
brilliant Valley campaign, in 1864 (in which the 52d Virginia 
Regiment acted a most conspicuous part), he was commis- 
sioned captain of Co. " H." 

He was present with and participated wfth his regiment in 
all the battles fought by Pegram's Brigade, from Cedar Moun- 
tain till the close of the war, with one exception, when sick- 
ness compelled him to be absent. 

He was in command of the 5 2d Virginia Regiment at the 
surrender of the army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox 
Court-House, and signed the parole for the men of his regi- 
ment. What more honorable record could be made of a 
soldier than that his name is enrolled with that patriotic band 
who followed their noble chieftain. General Robert E. Lee, 



522 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



through many of the dangers and vicissitudes of a four-years' 
war, and, in the trying hour of military disaster, was still at 
his post of duty? 

Upon his return home, after the surrender, he at once 
engaged in business, as a druggist, with all his usual ardor. 
Very soon it became evident that the exposures of the war 
had made most serious impressions upon a constitution natu- 
rally delicate. Consumption attacked his lungs, and he most 
rapidly declined. Though a great sufferer, he bore his troubles 
with manly fortitude up to the close of his life, October 20, 
1866. 

Thus ended the earthly career of a noble, generous, and 
gallant youth ! Though it was not his privilege to die upon 
the field of battle " with his back to the field and his face to 
the foe," yet he was no less a victim of the war, — as its hard- 
ships and discomforts developed and hastened the march of 
the disease which closed his mortal life. Young, gifted in 
mind, of a manly, noble nature, he has left a name and a 
record which will be honored as long as manly worth and 
virtue are appreciated. 

Dr. A. M. Fauntleroy. 



SAMUEL TYLER, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA; FIRST LIEUTENANT, C. S. TOPOGRAPHICAL 

ENGINEERS. 

Samuel Tyler, son of John H. Tyler, Esq., was born in 
Richmond, Virginia, in 1843. After a preparatory education 
in the Richmond day-schools, he entered the Virginia Military 
Institute, in June, 1861. Remaining there only long enough to 
become familiarized with the drill, he received an appointment 
as drill-master, and was ordered to report for duty to General 
Garnett at Laurel Hill. Here he performed the duties of his 
position until the fatal battle in which General Garnett lost his 



C. F. URQUHART. 523 

life, participating in this fight and in the terrible retreat which 
ensued. Going home after this on a short furlough, he re- 
ported to General Jackson, and was for several months in com- 
mand of a company of infantry. Was then transferred to the 
engineer corps and assigned to duty with Colonel Rives, act- 
ing under whom he assisted in the construction of the fortifi- 
cations at Drewry's Bluff. Receiving a commission as first 
lieutenant in the Topographical Engineers, he remained in 
that service until the close of the war. 

But though Lieutenant Tyler had escaped amid the chances 
of war, passing unharmed through battle, the long- continued 
exposure necessitated by his duties had done sure work, so 
undermining his constitution that at the close of hostilities he 
was left with his lungs permanently diseased. 

Lingering for two years, he died on the 8th of May, 1867, 
in his twenty-fourth year. He died as he had lived, a Christian 
soldier. 



C. F. URQUHART, 

OF SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; MAJOR, 3D VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Charles Fox Urquhart, the subject of this memoir, was 
born at Oak Grove, Southampton County, Virginia, the resi- 
dence of his father, Ansalem B. Urquhart, on the 1 2th of May, 
1838. After the usual preliminary education and training, he 
entered the Virginia Military Institute in July, 1857, where 
he graduated in the summer of i860. Soon after returning 
home, though surrounded by all the luxuries, comforts, and 
conveniences in life, so well calculated to seduce us into habits 
of indolence and sloth, yet, with that energy and spirit so char- 
acteristic of his paternal ancestors, of whom it has been said 
" that they would have felt that they had but imperfectly dis- 
charged their duties as good citizens did they not contribute 



524 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

something to the common fund of public prosperity," he, 
with a view to the prosecution of civil engineering, — a study- 
to which he had given no little of his time and attention whilst 
at the Institute, — announced his intention of going to South 
America, where it will be remembered a feverish excitement 
was then prevailing on the subject of railroads. Before, how- 
ever, his arrangements were fully completed, the long-agitated 
political troubles between the North and the South seemed 
about to culminate in a resort to arms. A soldier by profes- 
sion, a Virginian to the core, he hesitated not as to the direc- 
tion in which his path of duty lay. He relinquished his South 
American project and calmly awaited the action of his State, 
through her convention then about to assemble, which he 
knew would decide her destiny. When the tocsin of war 
sounded, the first company organized in his county elected 
him by acclamation their first lieutenant. It may not be out of 
place to state that at the same time he was tendered the cap- 
taincy, but declined in deference to what he considered the 
prior claims of an older alumnus of his alma mater. This 
company, afterwards known as Co. ** D," 3d Virginia Infantry 
(Colonel Pryor), occupied that region of country lying on the 
James River, known as Day's Neck, until the spring of 1862, 
when it was ordered across to the Peninsula, where it first saw 
active service. From this time forward Lieutenant Urouhart 
took part in every engagement in which his company or regi- 
ment participated, including Yorktown, Williamsburg, and 
Seven Pines, where he was promoted captain, the seven days' 
battle around Richmond, the second battle of Manassas, Har- 
per's Ferry, and Sharpsburg. At the second battle of Manassas, 
Captain Urquhart was promoted major, and was in command 
of his regiment when that fatal bullet was sped wh4ch cut down, 
— colors in hand, — at Sharpsburg, September 17, 1862, one of 
the most devoted, gallant, and heroic officers in the Confeder- 
ate army. 

Since entering the service to the day of his death Major 
Urquhart had never, from any cause, been absent a single 
day from his post. To say that his whole career was marked 



C. F. URQUHART. 525 

by a brave and courageous bearing, by gallant exploits, by 
an unselfish patriotism, and by an unswerving devotion to 
duty, is but to affirm what every surviving soldier of his 
regiment will cheerfully attest. Nor was it on the battle- 
field alone that he excited the admiration of his comrades and 
won the plaudits of his superiors ; but, ever mindful of the 
privations and hardships of his subordinates, ever ready in 
attendance upon the sick and with encouragement for the 
weary and despondent, it was in bivouac and on the march 
that those good qualities of head and heart were recognized 
and appreciated ; 'twas then that the genial sunshine of his 
soul shone out so resplendently as to elicit that sad and touch- 
ingly beautiful tribute to his memory, embraced in a series of 
resolutions passed by his late comrades in arms soon after 
his death. But for their length and the limits assigned to this 
paper, I should introduce them here, as furnishing the most 
fitting eulogy of the dead hero. 

The subject of this memoir was about the middle size of 
men, and possessed more than ordinary personal advantages. 
His figure was erect and graceful; his bearing calm, dignified, 
and even grave, but his manner upon being approached was 
ever easy, affable, and agreeable. 

Perhaps I cannot more appropriately conclude this meagre 
and imperfect sketch of Major Urquhart, than by transcrib- 
ing a few sentences from a letter written by a soldier of his 
command, from Winchester, Virginia, announcing the sad 
intelligence of his death to the family : 

..." The major was killed in the battle of Sharpsburg, 
Maryland, on the 17th inst, whilst nobly leading his regiment, 
colors in hand. We were unable to recover his body. His 
old company have lost the best friend they ever had ; the 
regiment, one of its most reliable and trusted officers, and the 
service, one of the noblest, bravest, best men that ever walked 
God's green earth. There was no one save my brother 
whom I loved more sincerely, living, or mourn more sin- 
cerely, dead." 

R. W. BURGES. 



526 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

\ 

WILLIAM M. WALLER, Jr., 

OF AMHERST COUNTY, VIRGINIA; FIRST LIEUTENANT, CO. "E," 2D VIR- 
GINIA CAVALRY. 

William M. Waller, Jr., son of William M. Waller, was 
born in Amherst County, Virginia, in 1829. In July, 1848, he 
entered the Virginia Military Institute, and graduated in 1852. 
Was afterwards occupied in farming, until 1861, then the first 
sound of the war-bugle found him a volunteer in Captain 
Whitehead's Cavalry Company, from Amherst (afterwards Co. 
" E," 2d Virginia Cavalry), serving during his first year as or- 
derly sergeant. At the reorganization of his company in 1862, 
he was elected first lieutenant. The modesty and diffidence of 
his youth, so well remembered by his old classmates, adhered 
to him in after-life, and prevented him from seeking a higher 
position, which he might have attained. Let the chronicle of 
his alma mater enroll high his name among the modest, kind- 
hearted, brave, and true, who shed so much lustre on the 
Confederate arms. History will blaze with the exploits of the 
great Jackson, but the brightness of his fame will not cast 
into the shade the noble deeds of his old pupils who, in the 
discharge of their duty, fell for "the cause." Of this number 
was he of whom we now write. He fell while executing Gen- 
eral Jackson's orders, and by the successful execution of these 
orders helped in no small degree to perfect his commander's 
strategy, and to enable him to whip in detail the armies of 
Fremont at Cross Keys, June 8, and Shields at Port Republic, 
June 9, 1862. 

At dawn on the morning of the 9.th of June an order was 
sent to Colonel T. T. Mumford, commanding cavalry of 
division, by Major R. L. Dabney, A. A. G., "for a trusty 
officer to be detailed to command the cavalry videttes, who 
will cover the infantry rear-guard of Ewell's Division, now in 
front of Fremont, and who will withdraw and join General 



BARKSDALE WARWICK. 



527 



Jackson, now engaging Shields near the Lewis House." To 
Lieutenant Waller was assigned this delicate and important 
manoeuvre. The officer commanding the rear brigade of 
Ewell's forces, supposing the whole of the mounted forces had 
crossed the bridge, applied the torch to it. Well supplied 
with combustibles and unexploded shells, it was impassable in 
a few seconds. 

The enemy pressing forward, soon drove Waller and his 
videttes back to the bridge, when, to his horror, he was fired 
upon by his own army, who supposed him to be of the 
enemy's cavalry. Between Scylla and Charybdis, indeed ! 
He stood for a moment, conscious that he could not swim, 
then, scorning to surrender, he boldly dashed into the river. 
His horse floundered and fell, he was thrown off and drowned 
in the face of both armies. 

Thus died this noble soldier. Virginia's Ploratius Codes, 
he not only emulated the bravery of the Roman hero, but died 
in the execution of his duty. A statue was erected to Hora- 
tius in the Comitium, while yet alive, and other honors were 
rendered to him. Virginia can do no such honor to this her 
son, who gave his life for her, but better still, in the hearts of 
his brothers in arms, in the hearts of all the true, his name is 
enshrined as the pure and fearless patriot, the brave and gen- 
erous soldier, the modest and unaffected gentleman. 



BARKSDALE WARWICK, 

OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA; AID-DE-CAMP TO GENERAL H. A. WISE. 

Barksdale Warwick, son of Corbin and Margaret E. 
Warwick, of Richmond, was born in that city on the 20th of 
June, 1844. His mother was a Miss Bradfute, great-grand- 
daughter of Colonel Byrd, of Westover, of historic note as 
the founder of Richmond, His ancestors have ever held the 
highest social position. In March, 1861, he entered the Vir- 



528 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

ginia Military Institute, but was only there for a few weeks. 
During the next month the cadets were ordered into service 
as drill-masters, and, after having performed efficient duty, 
were disbanded early in the summer, being allowed to elect 
between going into the army and returning to the Institute as 
soon as duties could be resumed there. Barksdale War- 
wick, though only sixteen years old, could not be persuaded 
to remain out of the army. With all the ardor of a young 
Southerner, he felt that his country needed his services. He 
at once joined General Wise in West Virginia, first as a drill- 
master, and was shortly afterwards attached to his staff as 
first lieutenant, and served in this capacity during the whole 
war, participating in all the hard service, marches, and battles 
of Wise's Brigade, in Western Virginia, around Richmond, 
on the Peninsula, in South Carolina, and around Petersburg, 
in all cases showing distinguished courage and coolness. 
His commanding officer makes special mention of his calm 
bravery in carrying orders, under a galling cannonade, at 
Williamsburg, in the summer of 1863. 

Passing through all the dangers of war unhurt, save by 
the fall of his horse in a charge upon the enemy near Charles- 
ton, South Carolina, he was reserved to become a victim just 
the week before the surrender of General Lee's army. The 
circumstances of his death are recounted in the following let- 
ter of General Wise, with which this brief sketch will close : 

" Richmond, Virginia, August 3, 1865, 

" To Byrd Warwick, Esq. 

"Dear Sir, — Your letter of May 5, ultimo, did not, by 
some mischance, reach me until within the last few days. I 
now take mournful pleasure in supplying the note, which you 
say was burnt in the conflagration of Richmond, commemo- 
rative of the glorious death of your noble brother, Lieutenant 
Barksdale Warwick. 

" On the 29th of March last I was ordered, by Major- 
General B. R. Johnson, to advance my brigade on the mili- 
tary road, from its forks with the Boydton plank-road to 



BARKSDALE WARWICK. 



529 



Gravelly Run, a branch of Rowanty Creek. I was instructed 
to fight any force of the enemy I met, and informed that I 
would meet with no number of force which I could not brush 
out of my way. The brigade was promptly moved forward 
in line of battle, guiding by the centre, the military road, the 
centre and the line at right angles to it. The 34th and 46th 
Regiments were on the right, leading through a dense pine 
thicket, and the 26th and 59th were on the left, leading 
through a heavy growth of red oak and chestnut timber, with 
an undergrowth of stunted black-jacks, leafless, with low and 
thick branches. Within six hundred yards of the order to 
move forward, in these woods, Ave met three corps of the 
enemy, at least twenty-five thousand strong, which we imme- 
diately attacked, and the outer lines of which we drove some 
two hundred and fifty to three hundred yards, when we struck 
the main lines of the enemy at a sharp angle on the left, and 
diverging from left to right from twenty to fifty paces. 

"As we drove the enemy, the movement forward became 
slower and slower. I was pressing on the men with the 
words, ' Drive into them, boys ! drive into them !' when your 
brother at my side, on the right of the 26th, to the left of the 
military road, smiled and exclaimed, ' Let me cry charge, 
General Wise ! let me cry charge !' ' Cry charge ! my brave 
boy,' I replied, and he shouted, ' Charge !' and bounded across 
the road to my right, and reached where Lieutenant McDow- 
ell, of the 46th, was, and was shouting, 'Charge! charge!' 
with a bright smile on his face, when he was struck in the 
forehead and instantly killed. He did not seem to fall, but 
sat down on a fallen log, and his head fell back against a 
tree, with its full expression of the ' gandin certaniinis' on it. 
Lieutenant McDowell took off his watch, and I sent it to his 
mother. 

"Thus died Barksdale Warwick. No knight ever be- 
haved more bravely ! No brave ever died a more beautiful 
death ! After the surrender at Appomattox, two officers of 
the Federal army, one a surgeon, supposing that he was my 
son, came to me to inform me that he had been honorably 

34 



530 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



buried, and his grave marked. The surgeon said that he was 
the most beautiful corpse he ever saw ; that the color and the 
smile were still on his face, and he was sitting as he was left, 
as if in repose, and with hardly a stain of blood or of earth 
on his person. He was to me as a son. I loved him as if he 
had been mine. He had been with me from the beginning of 
the war, and never failed in duty to his country, or in rev- 
erence and obedience to me. He was gentle and amiable 
and genial, and yet indomitable in courage and pluck, and his 
bravery was as natural and unaffected as his death was beau- 
tiful. After what has happened, we ought not to wish such 
spirits still alive, to suffer the humiliation of submission. 

" Yours truly, Henry A. Wise." 



WILLIAM E. WATKINS, 

OF HALIFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; ORDERLY SERGEANT, ALRIGHT's BAT- 
TERY. 

William E. Watkins, son of Samuel P. Watkins, Esq., 
was born in Halifax County, in 1844; in August, i860, be- 
came a cadet at the Virginia Military Institute, where he 
remained until the corps went to Richmond, in the spring of 
1 86 1, to serve as drill-masters. When the corps was dis- 
banded, young Watkins, though under age, enlisted as a pri- 
vate in Alright's Battery, — an artillery company from his 
native county. With this battery he served during the whole 
war, having for his soldierly qualities been made orderly ser- 
geant. The severe service of the last campaigns of the war 
brought on disease which proved fatal, taking him home just 
a few months after hostilities had ceased. 

One of his comrades says of him, " He was a noble boy, 
much beloved among us." 



JOSEPH C. WHEELWRIGHT. 531 



JOSEPH C. WHEELWRIGHT, 

OF WESTMORELAND COUNTY, VIRGINIA; PRIVATE, CO. " C," CORPS OF 

CADETS. 

Joseph Christopher Wheelwright, the third son of Dr. 
Frederick D. and Maria L. Wheelwright, was born in West- 
moreland County, Virginia, November 26, 1846. 

His father, one of the most public-spirited and honored 
citizens of the county, embraced with ardor the Confederate 
cause, at the inception of hostilities being one of the first to 
volunteer in the 20th Virginia Cavalry, then forming; and 
afterwards, at the instance of friends, accepting the appoint- 
ment of surgeon in the same regiment. His two eldest sons, 
Thomas and Frederick, inspired by like patriotic enthusiasm, 
though both under age, volunteered at the same time, and 
served throughout the war with marked gallantry and effi- 
ciency. 

Joseph Christopher, then but fourteen years of age, was, 
with the utmost difficulty, restrained from joining his brothers 
in the ranks, and, as the war progressed, chafed sorely under 
this restraint. His heart was in the field. His school was a 
prison to him. But he recognized and accepted the authority 
and wisdom of his parents in keeping him to his studies and 
the varied duties of home, which devolved upon him in the 
absence of his father and elder brothers. He was ever a duti- 
ful and loving son, and a devoted brother, helpful, sympathiz- 
ing, and industrious; and though study was a task to him, he 
was ambitious to improve himself, and applied all the powers 
of his mind to whatever he undertook, never putting a subject 
aside until he had mastered it thoroughly. 

His character, like his appearance, was most engaging. 
Bright and joyous in aspect and disposition, there was an in- 
genuousness and modesty in his demeanor, joined to a quiet 
manliness of bearing, which impressed all, old and young 



532 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

alike, with singular interest and attraction. His impulses 
were all pure and noble. From childhood remarkable for 
truthfulness and unselfishness, a striking sincerity and gen- 
erosity continued to be prominent traits of his nature. He 
was ever ready to sacrifice himself for the comfort of those 
around him. With a natural insensibility to fear, he always 
bore physical pain without complaint. 

His courage was tested not only by numberless incidents 
of his boyhood, but on those frequent occasions during the 
war when civilians would be called out to check and repel 
marauding parties of the enemy. Among other incidents was 
the following: A vessel had been seized by a band of traitors, 
with the intent of carrying her out of our waters and de- 
livering her over to the Federals. A small party of citizens, 
hearing, at the last moment, of their design, determined to 
frustrate it. In this they succeeded, though many of them 
were unarmed, while their opponents, much superior in num- 
ber, were armed to the teeth, and, being in possession of the 
vessel, resisted from her deck with desperate determination. 
The attacking party rowed out to her in a small boat, and 
boarded her under heavy fire from the outlaws, rescuing the 
vessel from them in a hand-to-hand conflict. Young Wheel- 
wright, against the remonstrances of the senior members of 
the party, insisted upon sharing in this attempt, and through- 
out the engagement evinced a coolness under fire, and such 
courage and daring in scaling the vessel, as contributed greatly 
to the success of the enterprise, and evoked the unbounded 
applause of his older companions. 

The frequent disturbances in the neighborhood, and the 
consequent interruption to his studies, together with his eager 
and unconquerable desire to join the army, decided his parents, 
finally, to send him to the Virginia Military Institute, where 
his martial tastes might be indulged under proper training 
and discipline, and his general education be progressing at 
the same time under the auspices of that high-toned institu- 
tion. He was, accordingly, entered as a cadet, in August, 
1863. His parents fondly hoped that he, at least, might be 



JOSEPH C. WHEELWRIGHT. 533 

kept out of danger, while his brothers were incurring all the 
risks and chances of war. Vain, alas, the hope ! " Man pro- 
poses, God disposes." His brothers passed honorably, but 
unscathed, through the contest, while he, whose safety was 
thus thought to be secured, was speedily called to lay down 
his life for his mother State. But a few months had been 
spent in the walls of this fancied asylum, when the cadets 
were summoned to the field. Promptly and gladly they re- 
sponded to the summons. Roused before daybreak, on the 
nth of May, 1864, by the heart-stirring long roll, quickly 
they made ready, and, after four days' hard marching in rain 
and mud, they met the enemy at New Market. General 
Breckinridge, though outnumbered three to one by Sigel, 
would have held them in reserve; but it had to be otherwise. 
The first line broke under the withering fire, right into the 
gap rushed this gallant band of boys, and with a constancy, 
steadiness, and valor unsurpassed by veterans, did their part 
nobly in changing the tide of battle. Victory was theirs; yet 

" Sadly, through tears, they tell 
How, in their beauty, fell 
The martyred seven. 
Freed by the battle-tlirust, 
Rose their bright souls from dust, 
Bearing a nation's trust, 

Blood-sealed, to heaven." 

Among these, the bravest of the brave, young Wheel- 
wright, fell. One of the foremost in a desperate charge, he 
received the fatal wound. 

His comrades bore him from the field. He was carried 
to Harrisonburg, where he was kindly received in the hos- 
pitable home of Dr. Newman, whose family ministered to his 
comfort with the most tender solicitude. The best medical 
skill proved unavailing. He sank rapidly under the effects of 
his wound, and died on the 2d of June, 1864. His attending 
physician. Dr. Thomas M. Lewis, testified that he bore his 
sufferings with the most heroic patience, fortitude, and resigna- 
tion, and that he requested him to inform his father " that he 



534 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



knew he was going to die, and had made preparation for death ; 
that he felt that God had forgiven his past sins, and that he 
would be saved through the blood of Jesus." 

D. C. Wirt. 



J. W. V^ILLCOX, 

OF CHARLES CITY COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; SERGEANT, CHARLES CITY 
DRAGOONS. 

The subject of this brief memoir, J. Westmore Willcox, 
son of Dr. Edward Willcox, was born in Charles City 
County, on the 3d of August, 1838; and was mortally 
wounded in the cavalry engagement at Trevillian's Station, 
in Louisa County, Virginia, on the nth of June, 1864. 

The old maxim, ''Dc mortitis nil nisi boniiui,'' is frequently 
too true. In this case it is not the design of the writer to 
lavish praise where it is not due, but rather to collect facts 
and state them fairly. 

Young Willcox entered the Virginia Military Institute in 
August, 1856, having just attained his eighteenth year. After 
studying at the Institute for three years, he returned to his 
home, and devoted himself to agricultural pursuits, winning 
the love and respect of all who knew him, by kindness of 
heart and courtesy of manner, dignified by conscientious and 
undeviating rectitude. 

When the war began he was a member and first corporal 
of the Charles City Dragoons. Impatient, however, to join 
in the contest, upon application, he was appointed adjutant of 
the post at Fort Powhatan, under the comrhand of Captain 
Cocke, at a time when it was daily expected that a fleet would 
find its way up James River. By his officer-like bearing and 
gentlemanly deportment, he won the esteem and confidence 
of both officers and men. 

He had held this position but for a short time, when it was 



/ 



LEWIS B. WILLIAMS. 



535 



abolished. Instead of returning to his home to brood over the 
loss of an easy berth, he repaired at once to the Peninsula, 
rejoined his former command as a volunteer without pay, 
performed efficient services as a scout, and was conspicuous 
in a cavalry engagement with the enemy. 

Naturally sensitive, and endowed with a high sense of 
honor, he became restless and dissatisfied with a position that 
entitled him to privileges which the private in ranks could 
not enjoy. After a brief respite, he connected himself perma- 
nently with the company. His amiability of character and 
soldierly qualities endeared him to his comrades. A vacancy 
shortly occurring, he was elected second sergeant, and as 
such served with distinction through both Maryland cam- 
paigns, participating in every fight in which his division (Fitz. 
Lee's) was engaged. 

But little is known of the incidents attending his death. 
He was wounded while his comrades were retiring after an 
effort to dislodge the enemy from a strong position. Left on 
the field, he fell into the enemy's hands, but was recaptured 
and sent to a hospital at Gordonsville, where he died in a few 
hours. 

" Brief, brave, and glorious was his young career." 



LEWIS B. WILLIAMS, 

OF ORANGE COUNTY, VIRGINIA; COLONEL, 1ST VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Colonel Lewis B. Williams was the son of Lewis Wil- 
liams, Esq., of Orange Court-House, Virginia. During his 
seventeenth year, July 15, 1851, he matriculated at the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute, and pursued successfully his studies 
until he graduated, in July, 1855, having attained excellent 
academic standing, and held the highest military office in his 
class. After graduation, he was appointed Assistant Professor 



536 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

of Mathematics and Assistant Instructor in Tactics, with the 
rank of captain. Having performed the duties of this posi- 
tion for three years, Colonel Williams studied and entered 
upon the practice of law, being fairly started just as the war 
came. Raising a company at once, he hastened to Harper's 
Ferry, and reported for duty ; was shortly afterwards ap- 
pointed lieutenant-colonel of the 7th Virginia Infantry, in 
which position he served with distinguished gallantry during 
the campaigns of 1 861 and early '62. At the reorganization 
of the army he was elected colonel of the ist Virginia In- 
fantry ; at the battle of Williamsburg, was severely wounded 
and taken prisoner. He was killed in command of his brigade 
as he led them in the grand charge on the heights of Gettys- 
burg, July 3, 1863. 

Colonel Williams was a man of remarkably brilliant mind, 
fine figure and presence, brave as a lion, — possessing, in fact, 
peculiar qualifications as an officer and soldier. His promo- 
tion was an expected fact, but his life had been laid down ere 
he could gain higher position. 



N. CLAIBORNE WILSON, 

OF EOTETOURT COUNTY, VIRGINIA; MAJOR, 28tH VIRGINIA INFANTRY. 

Nathaniel Claiborne Wilson was born at Fincastle, 
Botetourt County, Virginia, on the 12th of September, 1839. 
His father was Colonel George W. Wilson, of Botetourt; his 
mother, Mrs. Susan M. Wilson, was the daughter of the late 
Hon. N. H. Claiborne, of Franklin County, Virginia. He 
entered the Virginia Military Institute on the 3d of August, 
1857; remained during two sessions, and then entered the 
Law School of the University of Virginia ; graduating in 
i860, he obtained a license, and commenced the practice of 
his profession in the fall of that year, at Newcastle, Craig 



A^. CLAIBORNE WILSON. 



537 



County. In April, 1861, he organized and was elected cap- 
tain of the Craig Rifles. At the first call for Virginia troops, 
he marched his company to Lynchburg, and thence to Rich- 
mond. From the latter city his company was ordered to 
Manassas Junction, and was here incorporated in the 28th 
Virginia Infantry. At the battle of Manassas, July 21, 1861, 
Captain Wilson's company came in contact with the regi- 
ment of Colonel Wilcox, of the Federal army, and succeeded 
in wounding and capturing Wilcox. In the melee seven of 
the Craig Rifles were wounded. At the reorganization of the 
army, in 1862, Captain Wilson was elected major of the 28th 
Virginia. At the battle of Seven Pines, Major Wilson re- 
ceived a slight wound in the face, but was kept from duty 
only a few days. Participating in the battles around Rich- 
mond, in the storming of the enemy's works at Gaines's Mill, 
he was shot through the thigh by a Minie-ball. So severe 
was this wound, that he was kept from his command for 
several months, being prevented by it from being present at 
the second battle of Manassas, or in the first Maryland cam- 
paign, — the only service in which his regiment participated 
without his presence until the glorious and desperate charge 
of Pickett's Division, in which he met his death. As soon as 
he recovered from the wound received at Gaines's Mill, Major 
Wilson reported for duty at Richmond, and, being still lame, 
was assigned to duty by the War Department at Camp Lee ; 
but he preferred active service, and rejoined his command, 
which in a short while was ordered to North Carolina. 
During this campaign Major Wilson commanded his regi- 
ment. After the siege of Washington, North Carolina, the 
28th was ordered to Hanover Junction, Virginia, where it re- 
mained until ordered to proceed with the army into Mary- 
land and Pennsylvania, in July, 1863. On the morning of the 
3d of July, when other brigades had faltered in the attempt to 
storm a position of the enemy at Gettysburg, held with one 
hundred and twenty pieces of artillery by the flqwer of the 
Northern army, Pickett's three Virginia brigades were drawn 
up in front of it, and the order to advance given. In that ad- 



538 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

vance of fifteen hundred yards, perhaps the grandest charge 
of modern times, many of Virginia's noblest sons went down. 
Major Wilson was of this number. Acting as lieutenant- 
colonel of his regiment, when the command " Forward !" was 
given, he stepped in front of the left wing of his command, 
and called to his men, ''Nozv, boys, put your trust in God, and 
follow inc f Keeping in advance, he led the charge, until 
one-third of the field had been crossed, then fell, pierced by a 
grape-shot. Taken immediately to the division hospital, he 
died in fifteen or twenty minutes; his last words, " Tell my 
mother I died a true soldier, and I hope a true Christian^' 
spoken to his friend, the chaplain of his regiment, in that in- 
terval. His body was wrapped in his army blanket and 
buried near the fatal field, his comrades being unable to pro- 
cure a coffin. Before his death he had asked to be buried in 
the old burying-ground at home. As soon as it was possible 
after the war, his remains were disinterred, and borne to the 
resting-place of his fathers. 

Major Wilson had been a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church South for some years previous to his death, 
and strong was his trust in God. In his diary, found on his 
person after death, was found the following, the last sentence 
he ever wrote : 

"jlitly 3. In line of battle, expecting to move forzvard every 
minute. With our trust in God, zve fear not an eartldy enemy. 
God be with usT' 

As a fitting conclusion to this sketch, we extract the fol- 
lowing paragraphs from a letter of the Rev. P. Tinsley, chap- 
lain of the 28th : 

" Major Wilson exhibited in every relation the utmost 
purity and rectitude of character, and his deportment, both 
in his official actions and in social and private life, were en- 
tirely consistent with the Christian hope that he expressed to 
me as well as to the men who bore him from the field. For 
some time .previous to his death he had manifested an in- 
creased interest in religion, as was evident from his Scripture 
reading and his attendance upon religious service. There was 



p. H. WORSHAM. 



539 



no reasonable labor or sacrifice that the officers and men of 
his regiment would not have suffered in his behalf, so strongly- 
had his many virtues — and especially his gallantry on every 
field and his heroic courage — attached us to him. 

" He died calmly. His features were not distorted, but as 
placid and natural as if quietly sleeping in bivouac, with his 
comrades around him. After using every effort to procure a 
coffin, it became necessary to bury him in his military over- 
coat, with his army blanket for his coffin and his shroud." . 



P. H. WORSHAM, 

OF DINWIDDIE COUNTY, VIRGINIA ; SERGEANT-MAJOR, 3D VIRGINIA 

CAVALRY. 

Patrick Henry Worsham was born at " Oldenplace," Din- 
widdie County, Virginia, on the 2d of August, 1837. He was 
the second son of Dr. Henry C. Worsham, an eminent physi- 
cian and surgeon of Dinwiddle, who represented his county 
with distinction in the State Legislature from 1861 to 1865. 
His paternal grandfather. Captain Ludson Worsham, was pri- 
vate secretary to General Nathaniel Greene during the Revo- 
lution, and had conferred upon him the rank of captain at the 
battle of Guilford, North Carolina. His mother, whose maiden 
name was Judith M. Bland, was a descendant of Richard 
Bland. He was also closely connected with John Randolph 
of Roanoke. 

In 1853, young Worsham entered the Virginia Military In- 
stitute, his previous education having been received at home 
and at Hampden-Sidney College. Entering the fourth class, 
at the end of the session he had attained excellent standing, — 
twelfth on general merit in a class of forty-one. During the 
next year he received a very severe fall, which nearly cost him 
his life, and necessitated his return to his home. Returning, 



540 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

after some time, he endeavored to pursue his studies ; but his 
system had received so great a shock that he was incapaci- 
tated for study and military duty, and was again forced to go 
to his home. Before he had recovered from his injuries, his 
class had made such progress as to make it impossible to 
overtake them. He therefore determined to study law. In 
furtherance of this plan, he entered the law school of the 
University of Virginia, and took one year's course; and then, 
upon the advice of the late Judge Gholson, took a second 
course, under Judge John W. Brockenbrough, LL.D., at Lex- 
ington, from whom he received his license to practice law. 
He returned to his home in May, i86i, attended Dinwiddie 
Court on the third Wednesday of the same month, addressed 
the grand jury, and entered as a practitioner of law at that 
court. Early in May he joined the cavalry company from 
his county, "Dinwiddie Troop," Company "A," 3d Virginia 
Cavalry, went with it into service in the Peninsula, and was 
soon appointed sergeant-major of his regiment. In this posi- 
tion he served with gallantry and distinction during the Penin- 
sula campaign. On the retreat, being engaged in a skirmish at 
Williamsburg during a day and night, he contracted what was 
familiarly known as the camp fever. He was carried to Rich- 
mond, where he remained several days, then to Petersburg, to 
the house of Mr. John Dodson, a connexion, where he lingered, 
cared for in the kindest manner, nearly three weeks, and died 
on the 5th of June, 1862, in the twenty-fifth year of his age. 

In service just one year, Mr. Worsham had given evidence 
of his worth as a man and soldier. His colonel, William M. 
Field, says of him, " He was an honest man, a high-toned 
gentleman, and a brave soldier. Requiescat in pace !" 



T. C. WRIGHT. 541 



T. C. WRIGHT, 

OF WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA^; SERGEANT-MAJOR, 37TH NORTH 
CAROLINA INFANTRY. 

Thomas C. Wright, son of Dr. Thomas H. and Mary 
Wright, was born in Wilmington, North Carolina, in 1846. 

The war coming on while he was a mere boy, he was sent 
to the Virginia Military Institute to prepare to take his part 
in the service of his country. He entered this school in Sep- 
tember, 1862, and having familiarized himself with the drill 
and military discipline, in obedience to what he considered 
his sacred duty, he resigned early in 1863, and enlisted as a 
private in the 37th North Carolina Infantry. With this regi- 
ment he served faithfully until the following winter, when, for 
his good qualities and soldierly conduct, he was appointed 
sergeant-major of the 37th. Through the arduous campaign 
of the spring of 1864 he served efficiently, discharging his 
duties as a man and a soldier in a manner that won the esteem 
of officers and comrades. But he was not destined to see the 
end. Just on the threshold of the age which would justify his 
countr)' in demanding his services; just where she could ask 
him to begin, there had he finished his duty nobly. Ere the 
time came when he would have to render her the service, 
he had gladly hastened to perform it ; nay, more, he had 
laid down his life for her. On the 7th of May, 1864, in his 
eighteenth year, at the great battle of the Wilderness, he was 
mortally wounded. Taken from the field of battle by slow 
stages to the North Carolina Hospital in Petersburg, he lin- 
gered for a fortnight in great suffering, borne with the fortitude 
of a Christian soldier, until the 26th of May, when he died. 

" Early in 1863, five of us were together in one room at the 
dear old Virginia Military Institute, — generous, open-hearted 
Charlie Haigh, brave as a lion, without fear and without re- 
proach, Cowardin, Badger, and poor Tom Wright, the gayest 



542 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



of us all. Before a twelvemonth had passed, all five were in 
the army: four had become officers. Three of the comrades 
served to the end, with honor to themselves and credit to the 
institution that had fitted them for their duties. The other 
two sealed with their blood their devotion to cause and coun- 
try. Charlie Haigh and Tom Wright, room-mates, friends, 
officers of the same regiment, in the same week death came to 
them !" 

He of whom we are now writing, while he had not attained 
to the age when, under ordinary circumstances, the true char- 
acter of the man shines forth, had by the troublous times been 
developed, and had shown of what metal he was made. The 
generous, impulsive boy, by the stern necessity of war, had 
Ijecome the brave, true, and faithful soldier, so trained in endur- 
ance that he could bear the terrible agony of his death-wound 
uncomplainingly. His friends lost a true-hearted, noble com- 
rade. He gained the warrior's crown. 



DISCOURSE 

ON THE 

LIFE AND CHARACTER 

OF 

LIEUT.-GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON, 

(C. S. A.) 

LATE PROFESSOR OF NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY IN THE 
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 

BY FRANCIS H. SMITH, A.M., 

SUPERINTENDENT OF THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE. 

Read before the Board of Visitors, Faculty, and Cadets, July I, 1863. 

WITH PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION IN HONOR OF THE ILLUS- 
TRIOUS DECEASED. 



{Published by order 0/ the Board of Visitors.) 



The providential arrangements by which the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute has been prepared and fitted for the great work 
devolving upon it, in the momentous struggle through which 
our country is now passing, is one of the most marked indica- 
tions of the favor and blessing of God to it and to our country. 
Ushered into being at a time of profound peace, — when nothing 
seemed so improbable as the existence of civil war, — when the 
necessity, or even utility of a military school seemed scarcely 
to have been conceived of by its founders, — every step in its 
history, from its inception to the present moment, indicates 
the directing and controlling hand of God, which has brought 
it into existence, — shaped its policy and animated its energies 
for the distinctive work to which He has called it. 

By its necessary organization as a public guard to the State 

543 



544 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

arsenal, its niilitary character was distinclively defined. With 
strong temptations, from the current of pubHc opinion, to 
adapt its system of studies to the ordinary college curriculum, 
it has been kept, by the force of circumstances, strictly to the 
scientific course prescribed for military schools, — so that it has 
been hemmed in as it were, by causes over which it could ex- 
ercise no control, to a work seemingly unnecessary, but which 
the experience of the last two years has shown to have been 
most effective for the cause of our oppressed country. 

See the wonderful evidences of public confidence, in the 
liberal support given it by our State authorities — the no less 
obvious appreciation of its worth, not as a school for niilitary 
knowledge so much as a school for discipline, by its patrons — 
in the constantly increasing demand for the benefits of its 
system of government. See how State after State in our 
Southern Confederacy — some enthusiastically, others reluc- 
tantly, but all firmly — has taken up the system of military 
schools, thus following the lead of Virginia. First, South 
Carolina, with its well-endowed and well-managed schools at 
Charleston and Columbia; then Georgia, at Marietta; Ken- 
tucky, at Frankfort; Tennessee, at Nashville; North Carolina, 
at Charlotte and Hillsboro' ; Louisiana, at Alexandria; Arkan- 
sas, at Little Rock ; Florida, at Tallahassee, — then Texas ; and 
finally, Alabama, in the thorough reorganization of its State 
University at Tuscaloosa, upon the model of this institution. 
And thus has each Southern State- been led, by an unseen 
guidance, to a work of preparation for the crisis of our country, 
— so that, when the cry, " To anus T was heard, the alumni of 
these various military schools rallied around the standard of 
the country, and prepared the untrained bands of freemen 
for the dreadful conflict in which they were so soon to be 
engaged. Thus has Providence, through agencies which 
have been quietly and noiselessly operating through a period 
of twenty-four years, raised up a class of educated officers, to 
meet the first onset of the trained and disciplined armies 
which our Northern foe hurled against us. 

It is not my purpose to argue here the value of such provi- 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 545 

dential pre-arrangemcnt, or the necessity for it, or how much 
our country owes to the noble heroes who have made them- 
selves and their country illustrious by their deeds, and yet 
have not had the advantages of the education which military 
schools supply, — whose lessons have been acquired in the 
school of the soldier, on the field of battle, and in the camp. 
But it does not detract from the merit or honor of these to say 
that our struggle would have been a very different one had we 
not had the well-trained teaching and discipline of military 
schools, in our Lees and Johnstons and Jacksons ; our Beaure- 
gard and Longstreet and Polk and Bragg and Hardee and Pem- 
berton; the Hills and Ewell and Early and Magruder, and 
many other general officers of distinction from West Point; in 
our own Rodes and Garland, and eight other general officers ; 
our sixty colonels, fifty lieutenant-colonels, fifty majors, one 
hundred and fifty captains, one hundred general and regi- 
mental staff officers, and one hundred and fifty subalterns 
from the Virginia Military Institute; and in the hundreds of 
other officers of various grades and high distinction from the 
several military schools of the South. The testimony of our 
own Washington, conclusiv^e as it is, will be received with au- 
thority on this point. In his last annual message to Congress, 
December 7, 1796, he thus recommended the establishment 
of a military academy : 

" The institution of a military academy is also recommended 
by cogent reasons. However pacific the general policy of a 
nation may be, it ought never to be without an adequate stock 
of military knowledge for emergencies. The first would im- 
pair the energy of its character, and both would endanger its 
safety, or expose it to greater evils, when war could not be 
avoided. Besides, that war might not often depend upon its 
own choice. In proportion as the observance of pacific 
maxims might exempt a nation from the necessity of prac- 
ticing the rules of the military art, ought to be its care in 
preserving and transmitting, by proper establishments, the 
knowledge of that art. Whatever argument may be drawn 
from particular examples, superficially viewed, a thorough 

35 



546 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

examination of the subject will evince that the art of war is 
both comprehensive and complicated; that it demands much 
previous study ; and that the possession of it, in its most im- 
proved and perfect state, is always of great moment to the 
security of a nation. This, therefore, ought to be a serious 
care of every government; and for this purpose, an academy, 
where a regular course of instruction is given, is an obvious 
expedient which different nations have successfully employed." 
(U. S. Doc. Foreign Rel., vol. iii. p. 3 1-2.) 

When we contemplate the interior organization and history 
of the Virginia Military Institute, we are no less struck with 
the providence which has guided the administration of the 
school. Although its operations have been steadily expand- 
ing, and the number of its professorships greatly enlarged, no 
resignation has ever taken place in its Faculty since its organ- 
ization in 1839; and no dcatJi has occurred in the corps of in- 
structors or professors during this long period, until the heavy 
calamity which has clothed a nation in sorrow and mourning, 
when our own illustrious Jackson fell. The same mind which 
originally conceived the plan, and enforced the practicability 
of such a military school, and gave its matured wisdom to the 
deliberations of the first Board of Visitors, still continues to 
direct the important department of instruction to which he 
was called on the nth of November, 1839. The venerable 
and faithful officer, whose annual visits have known no omis- 
sion for twenty-three years, still serves as our adjutant-gen- 
eral, and gives us to-day the wise counsels which have directed 
us through this long period. And when the war broke out, it 
was no less a providence that the Governor of the State was 
one who had been born and reared in our midst, who knew 
intimately the character of the institution, was acquainted 
with the peculiar qualifications of all its ofificers, and was the 
better able to appreciate the nature of the work before him, 
and to avail himself of the institution in the way best calcu- 
lated to promote the public good. It was thus, by the sagacity 
of Governor Letcher, that the corps of cadets was ordered to 
Richmond, and organized at Camp Lee into a camp of instruc- 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 547 

tion, in which fifteen thousand troops were drilled and prepared 
for the part taken by them in that first great victory of Ma- 
nassas. It was he that selected General (then Major) T. J. 
Jackson for one of his earliest appointments as a colonel of 
volunteers, and ordered him to the command of Harper's 
Ferry, where, with a large number of the alumni of this insti- 
tution, and with a detachment of cadets, he organized and 
gave efficiency to his Stonewall Brigade. It was thus, too, 
that, forewarned by the John Brown raid. Governor Wise in- 
structed the superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute 
to detail a competent officer to prepare and publish a work on 
military tactics for the use of our volunteers and militia; and 
that under this order our Southern soldiers, as they rallied 
around the standard of the country, were supplied with " Gil- 
ham's Tactics," as a hand-book for the field. And thus, step by 
step, we may trace the hand of God in the successive instru- 
mentalities which He had used, and by which He has made 
this school an important agent in the stupendous conflict now 
calling forth the full energies of our people. 

But the spirit of war is antagonistic to the genius and spirit 
of religion : and although it is a maxim of Christian prudence, 
" in peace prepare for war," war itself must be counted one of 
the direst calamities with which God afflicts a nation. What 
suffering and cruelty result from it ! How the heart and the 
conscience and the sensibilities are deadened ! how the morals 
of the young are corrupted, and how varied and sad the train 
of evil, even when war has ceased, and peace once again re- 
turns with its blessings to the land ! 'How great the restless- 
ness of the young, — the disregard of human life and human 
interests ! Vice and immorality and irreligion stalk through a 
land when once war (and that civil war) falls upon it. The 
" feints" and " disguises" and " snares" and " stratagems" of 
the soldier are made the basis for many a " device" of the Evil 
One, by which to entrap the unwary youth, — so that, while the 
Virginia Military Institute has, under the providence of God, 
been prepared for the great struggle of our revolution, and to 
be used in it for the accomplishment of much that was good, it 



548 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

would seem as if this could only be done by endangering all 
that was "pure" and "lovely" and " good report" in the school 
itself; and that germs of evil had also to be developed, which 
would well-nigh neutralize all that was hopeful or good. 

And just here, when such thoughts were gaining access to 
the minds of the friends of the young, God has, by a myste- 
rious providence, presented to the yonng soldier such a model of a 
Cliristian soldier in the life and deatli of Lieiitenant-General T. y. 
jfackson, which has scarcely a parallel in the annals of Cliris- 
tian lieroisni, ivith the design and purpose, as we liumbly trust, 
of directing the hearts of the young — ajid especially of the young 
men of this institution — to acknozvledge Hint whom their illus- 
trious professor honored, and to teach them, by his example, that 
true greatness rests up07i a ti'uthful submission to the will of God, 
as He is revealed to us in His Son jfesus CJirist. 

Let us contemplate the lesson thus presented to us. 

Born in the county of Harrison, Virginia, of a large and 
most influential family, the early boyhood of Jackson, if not 
oppressed by poverty, was a continual struggle, from the 
straitened circumstances of his family, caused by the loss of 
security money by his father, then a practicing lawyer in that 
section. Schools of an ordinary grade were inaccessible to 
his means ; and such instruction as he received was obtained 
in the midst of the severe demands for his labor on the farm, 
with the additional and most serious drawback of bad health 
and a feeble physical constitution. Thus were the years of 
his boyhood and early youth passed. We may picture to 
ourselves that manly and conscientious and thoughtful though 
delicate boy, now running the furrow, now planting the grain, 
now harvesting the crop or tending the cattle by day, and in 
the intervals of labor snatching up his grammar or geogra- 
phy or history, and thus laying the simple but solid founda- 
tion to that education he was soon to receive. These trials 
and struggles of early boyhood, in its thirsting after knowl- 
edge, present a sublime spectacle, while there can be no 
doubt that the discipline which Jackson thus underwent in 
his western home, while laying in the rudiments of a plain 



LIEUT.-CEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 549 

English education, constituted an important element in the 
development of those qualities which have added such lustre 
to his name. 

In the winter of 1841-42 he became aware that a vacancy- 
existed from his district in the United States Military Acad- 
emy at West Point. He was at once fired with the desire to 
secure the appointment. He was conscious of the great num- 
ber of applicants, and of the difficulties in the way of success. 
He knew he was poorly prepared for the severe and advanced 
studies of the Academy; but, nothing daunted, he resolved 
to make the effort, and, trusting to that providence whose 
guidance he ever acknowledged and sought, he started for 
Washington. His journey was a difficult one; partly on 
horseback, partly on foot, and partly by the public convey- 
ances, he reached the national capital, and laid his petition in 
person before his immediate representative, the Hon. Samuel 
L. Hays. The manner of the youth, his earnestness, his reso- 
lution, his hopefulness, all spoke for him. These were his 
credentials ; and the result was, he returned to his home with 
his warrant in his pocket, — his first public j'eward to honest 
effort in tJie patli of duty. 

On the 1st of July, 1842, he was admitted a cadet in the 
United States Military Academy. His class was a large and 
distinguished one. Generals McClellan, Foster, Reno, Stone- 
man, Couch, and Gibbon, of the Federal army; and Generals 
A. P. Hill, Pickett, Maury, D. R. Jones, W. D. Smith, and 
Wilcox, of the Confederate army, were among his classmates. 
He was at once brought into competition with young men of 
high cultivation; and although it is doubtful whether he had 
seen a French book in his life, or a mathematical book except 
his arithmetic, he was assigned to the fourth class, and entered 
upon the study of algebra, geometry, and French. At the 
end of his first year, in a class of seventy-two, he stood 45 in 
mathematics, 70 in French, had 15 demerit, and was 51 in 
general merit. Such a standing would have discouraged an 
ordinary youth. Not so with young Jackson. He knew his 
early disadvantages. He was rather encouraged that he could 



550 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

sustain himself at all; and, stimulated by this hope and confi- 
dence, he pressed forward to the work of the next advanced 
class. Here the studies were more abstruse and more com- 
plicated; but when the examination came round he had risen 
to i8 in mathematics, 52 in French; was 68 in drawing, and 
55 in English studies; had 26 demerit, and was 30 m general 
merit. 

In the second class a new course of studies was presented 
to him. Having completed the pure mathematics, French, 
and English, he had now to enter upon the study of chemis- 
try and natural philosophy ; and we see the upward and on- 
ward march of this resolute youth in the result of the year, 
which placed him 11 in natural philosophy, 25 in chemistry, 
59 in drawing, with 710 demerit for the year, and in general 
merit he was 20. In July, 1846, his class graduated. In the 
studies of the final year he was 12 in engineering, 5 in ethics, 
II in artillery, 21 in infantry tactics, ii in mineralogy and 
geology, 7 demerit for the year, and his graduating standing, 
including the drawbacks of his previous years, was 17. 

When we examine the steady upward progress which char- 
acterized his academic life, from 51 in his first year to 30 in 
his second, then 20, and finally 17 in ^f-w^r^/ standing, we can 
understand the remark of one of his associates, when he said 
that had Jackson remained at West Point, upon a course of 
four years' longer study, he would have reached the head of 
his class. And the lesson which his academic career presents 
is, that what he lacked in early previous preparation he made 
up by extra diligence and unceasing effort, while resolute de- 
termination to do his duty caused him to have but 48 demerit, 
with the strict discipline of West Point, in a course of four 
years. 

It was scarcely possible for a young man to have entered 
upon a course of studies for which he was less prepared, from 
want of early preparation, than he was. Accustomed to the 
labor of the field, the change in his habits of life would have 
unsettled any ordinary man ; but the resolute purpose to ac- 
complish what he had undertaken, and thus to vindicate the 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 551 

confidence of his fi-iends, animated him through all his diffi- 
culties, and crowned him with the honors of a graduate, and 
with the commission as a brevet second lieutenant of artillery, 
on the 1st of July, 1846. 

Lieutenant Jackson immediately reported for duty with his 
regiment, the ist Artillery, and was soon after assigned to 
Magruder's Light Battery, then serving in Mexico. On the 
3d of March, 1847, ^^ ^^'^^ promoted to a second lieutenant, 
and on the 20th of August of the same year to the rank of 
first lieutenant. On that day the battles of Contreras and 
Cherubusco were fought, and for " his gallant and meritorious 
conduct in these battles" he was brevetted a captain. The 
battle of Chepultepec was fought on the 13th of September, 
and he was brevetted a major of artillery for " gallant and 
meritorious conduct" in that battle. Thus, in the brief period 
of fourteen months, he had risen from a brevet second lieuten- 
ant of artillery to the rank of a brevet major of artillery, — a suc- 
cess without a parallel in the history of the Mexican war. His 
division commander thus notices his conduct : " The advanced 
section of the battery, under the command of the brave Lieu- 
tenant Jackson, was dreadfully cut up and almost disabled." 
..." Captain Magruder's field battery, one section of which 
was served with great gallantry by himself, and the other by 
his brave lieutenant, Jackson, in the face of a galling fire from 
the enemy's intrenched positions, did invaluable service pre- 
paratory to the general assault." 

Captain Magruder, in his official report, makes the follow- 
ing reference to him : " I beg leave to call the attention of 
the major-general commanding the division to the conduct of 
Lieutenant Jackson, of the ist Artillery. If devotion, indus- 
try, talent, and gallantry are the highest qualities of a soldier, 
he is entitled to the distinction which their possession con- 
fers." It is a singular coincidence that this report of Captain 
(now Major-General) Magruder was addressed to one who 
has abundantly verified its accuracy in his own disastrous 
defeat at Chancellorsville. Captain (now Major-General) Joe 
Hooker, of the Federal army, was the division adjutant- 



552 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

general through whom Captain Magruder's report was trans- 
mitted. 

It is not surprising that when the Board of Visitors of the 
Virginia Military Institute were looking about for a suitable 
person to fill the chair of Natural and Experimental Philoso- 
phy and Artillery, the associates of this young and brave 
major of artillery should have pointed him out as worthy to 
receive so distinguished an honor. Other names had been 
submitted to the Board of Visitors by the Faculty of West 
Point, all of them distinguished for high scholarship and for 
gallant services in Mexico, General McClellan, General Reno, 
General Rosecrans, of the Northern army, and General G. W. 
Smith, of the Confederate army, were thus named. But the 
peculiar fitness of young Jackson, from the high testimonials 
to his personal character, and his nativity as a Virginian, 
satisfied the Board that they might safely select him for the 
vacant chair, without seeking candidates from other States. 
He was therefore unanimously elected to the professorship on 
the 28th of March, 185 1, and entered upon the duties of his 
chair on the ist of September following. 

The professorial career of Major Jackson was marked by 
great faithfulness, and by an unobtrusive, yet earnest, spirit. 
With high mental endowments, teaching was a new profession 
to him, and demanded, in the important department of instruc- 
tion assigned to him, an amount of labor which, from the 
state of his health, and especially from the weakness of his 
eyes, he rendered at great sacrifice. Conscientious fidelity to 
duty marked every step of his life here; and when called to 
active duty in the field, he had made considerable progress in 
the preparation of an elementary work on optics, which he 
proposed to publish for the benefit of his classes. Strict, and 
at times stern, in his discipline, though ever polite and kind, 
he was not always a popular professor ; but no professor ever 
possessed to a higher degree the confidence and respect of the 
cadets, for his unbending integrity and fearlessness in the 
discharge of his duty. If he was exact in his demands upon 
them, they knew he was no less so in his own respect for, 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 553 

and submission to, authority; and thus it became a proverb 
among them, that it was useless to write an excuse for a 
report made by Major Jackson. His great principle of gov- 
ernment was, that a gc7ieral ride shotild not be violated for any 
particular good; and his animating rule of action was, that a 
man could ahvays accomplish what he willed to perform. Punc- 
tual to a minute, I have known him to walk in front of the 
superintendent's quarters during a hard rain, because the hour 
had not quite arrived when it was his duty to present his 
weekly class reports. 

For ten years he prosecuted his unwearied labors as a pro- 
fessor, making, during this period, in no questionable form, 
such an impress upon those who, from time to time, were 
under his command, that, when the war broke out, the spon- 
taneous sentiment of every cadet and graduate was, to sc^'ve 
under him as their leader. 

The habit of mind of Major Jackson, long before he made 
a public profession of religion, was reverential. Devoutly 
recognizing the authority of God, submissiveness to Him as 
his divine teacher and guide soon matured into a confession 
of faith in Him, and from that moment the " triple cord," " not 
slothful in business, fox'cnt in spirit, soi'ing the Lord,'' bound 
him in simple and trustful obedience to his Divine Master. 

With such a spirit animating a resolute, earnest, and fearless 
soldier, whose whole life had been one continual struggle with 
difficulties, this was the character, and this was the man, fitted 
of God, and trained by His providence, to be one of the leaders 
of our armies in the momentous struggle which opened upon 
us with the year 1861 : and there was not an officer nor a 
cadet of the institution that did not feel it to be so. 

He left the Military Institute on the 21st of April, 1861, 
in command of the corps of cadets, and reported for duty at 
Camp Lee, Richmond. Dangers were thickening rapidly 
around the State. Invasion by overwhelming numbers seemed 
imminent. Norfolk, Richmond, Alexandria, and Harper's 
Ferry were threatened. Officers were needed to command at 
these points. The Governor of Virginia, with the sagacity 



554 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



which has been before noticed, nominated Major Jackson as 
colonel of volunteers. His nomination was immediately and 
unanimously confirmed by the Council of State, and sent to 
the convention then in session. Some prejudice existed in 
that body from the supposed influence of the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute in these appointments, and the question was 
asked by various members, Who is this Thomas J. Jackson? 
A member of the convention from the county of Rockbridge, 
Hon. S. McDowell Moore, replied, " I can tell you who he is. 
If y oil put jfackson in coniniand at Norfolk^ lie will nci'cr leave 
it alive, itnless you order him to do so!' Such was the impress 
made upon his neighbors and friends in his quiet life as a pro- 
fessor at the Military Institute. His nomination was unani- 
mously confirmed by the convention, and his military life fully 
vindicated the opinion of Mr. Moore. 

From this moment commenced a military career so remark- 
able, that military history scarcely presents one more illustrious. 
I leave to the pen of the historian the delineation of the great 
events which marked these momentous years of his life. We 
all know how he sustained the honor of our arms when he com- 
manded at Harper's Ferry; how gallantly he repulsed Patterson 
at Hainesville; the invincible stand he made with his Stonewall 
Brigade at Manassas. We know the brilliant series of successes 
and victories which immortalized his great Valley campaign, — 
first defeating Milroy and Schenck at McDowell, and pursuing 
them to Franklin ; then assailing Banks at Front Royal and 
Winchester, and driving him, discomfited, across the Potomac ; 
his masterly retreat in the face of three opposing columns; 
his defeat of Fremont at Cross Keys, and then of Shields at 
Port Republic, — thus giving security and peace to his own 
Valley. We know his rapid march to the Chickahominy ; 
how he turned the flank of McClellan at Gaines's Mill ; his 
subsequent victory over Pope at Cedar Mountain ; the part he 
bore in the second great victory at Manassas ; his investment 
and capture of Harper's Ferry ; his rapid march and great 
conflict at Sharpsburg. And when his last conflict came, and 
he had conceived and executed a movement which, for bold- 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 555 

ness, daring, and celerity, exceeded any of his brilliant career, 
he is, by the mysterious providence of God, cut down by 
wounds from his own men, and, after a week of suffering, 
borne with the submission of a Christian hero, breathed out 
his spirit on Sunday, the loth of May, 1863, on the very day 
appointed by his commander-in-chief as a day of thanksgiving 
for the great victory at Chancellorsville, to which he had so 
largely contributed, and in which he had sacrificed his life. 
It was to the great leader of the army corps, indeed, a day of 
thanksgiving to God. "O death, where is thy sting? O 
grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God, ivho givctli 
lis the victory throng] i our Lord jfesus Christ ^ 

And now I ask, Was not General Jackson a great man? 
Was he not a truly great man? If so, what was the main 
secret of this greatness? Different answers will be given to 
this question, from the point of view from which his character 
is contemplated. I know that he was brave and resolute and 
vigilant and indomitable and rapid, and that these great quali- 
ties of a soldier generally give success in military operations; 
but to my mind, the great principle that underlaid these capi- 
tal qualities, and was the animating spirit which gave effect to 
them, was his simple faitli and trust in God. It was this spirit 
that gave "strength" to him in his "weakness." It was this 
that made his resolute will invincible, — caused him to be 
"valiant in fight," and gave him the power "to turn to flight 
the armies of the aliens." And his men partook of this spirit. 
They had faith in Jackson, because Jackson had faith in God. 
Believing in the righteousness and justice of our cause, he had 
entire confidence that God would vindicate the right, and in 
His own good time give us deliverance. He was, in a word, 
a Christian hero, who counted himself but as an instrument in 
God's hands to do the work to which He had appointed him; 
and therefore, in the midst of his greatest achievements, his 
spirit was that of the inspired penman, when he said, — 

" We got not this by our own sword, neither was it our own 
arm that saved us; by Thy right hand and Thine arm, and the 
light of Thy countenance, because Thou hadst favor unto us." 



556 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

"The Lord hath appeared for us: the Lord hath covered 
our heads, and made us to stand in the day of battle." 

" The Lord hath appeared for us : the Lord hath over- 
thrown our enemies, and dashed in pieces those that rose up 
against us." 

" Therefore, not unto us, O Lord, not unto. us, but unto Thy 
name be given the glory." 

And therefore it is, that while we bless God that He has 
given us such a leader, and count it an evidence of His favor 
to our beloved country, and an earnest of our ultimate success, 
that He has raised up for us such a champion for our cause, we 
turn from the work he has achieved for our country to con- 
template the lesson which his life and death present ; and we 
repeat, that by the mysterious providence which has taken 
him away in the midst of his usefulness, God has raised up 
for the young soldier such a model of a true Christian hero 
as to teach, by an illustrious example, wherein true greatness 
lies, and to lead the young men of this new Confederacy to 
honor that God whom it was the highest glory of this great 
and good man to have loved and served. 

Young men of the Virginia Military Institute ! Would you 
honor the memory of one who has added such lustre to this 
school, follow him as he followed Christ. Would you strive 
for earthly glory, remember that great as his fome is, he 
"counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowl- 
edge of Jesus Christ our Lord." 

Are you at times discouraged by the difficulties thrown 
around your paths, — contemplate this manly youth, strug- 
gling with trials more serious than fall to the lot of most 
young men, and, encouraged by his resolute example, buckle 
on the armor for the conflicts of life. 

Do temptations assail you, remember that by his teaching 
all things are possible to a resolute will. Resist them as he 
would have resisted, and then the most precious monument 
that can be reared to his memory by this institution will be 
the record of those who have been led by his example to 
the service of Him whom he recognized as the captain of his 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 557 

salvation. And then we shall all see, in living lights, not only 
the leadings of that providence by which this institution has 
been trained and fitted for the great struggle through which 
we are now passing, but by which its precious young men 
have been made more useful here, and prepared for honor 
and glory and immortality hereafter. 



Adjutant-General's Office, Virginia, 
May II, 1863. 

Sir, — By command of the Governor, I have this day to perform the 
most painful duty of my official life, in announcing to you, and through 
you, to the Faculty and cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, the death 
of the great and good, the heroic and illustrious, Lieutenant-General T. 
J. Jackson, at fifteen minutes past three o'clock yesterday. 

This heavy bereavement, over which every true heart in the Con- 
federacy mourns with irrepressible sorrow, must fall, if possible, with 
heavier force upon that noble State institution to which he came from 
the battle-fields of Mexico, and where he gave to his native State the 
first years' service of his modest and unobtrusive but public-spirited 
life. It would be a senseless waste of words to attempt an eulogy upon 
this great among the greatest of the sons who have immortalized Vir- 
ginia. To the corps of cadets of the Virginia Military Institute, what a 
legacy he has left you ! what an example of all that is good and great 
and true in the character of a Christian soldier ! 

The Governor directs that the highest funeral honors be paid to his 
memory ; that the customary outward badges of mourning be worn by 
all the officers and cadets of the institution. 
By command. 

W. H. RICHARDSON, 
• A djutan t- General. 
Major-General F. H. Smith, 

Supt. Virginia Military Institute. 



GENERAL ORDERS, ) 
No. 30. ) 



Headquarters Virginia Military Institute, 

May 13, 1863. 



It is the painful duty of the superintendent to announce to the officers 
and cadets of this institution the death of their late associate and profes- 



558 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

sor, Lieutenant-General Thomas J. Jackson. He died at Guinea's 
Station, Caroline County, Virginia, on the loth instant, of pneumonia, 
after a short but violent illness, supervening upon the severe wounds re- 
ceived in the battle of Chancellorsville. A nation mourns the loss of 
General Jackson. First in the hearts of the brave men he has so often 
led to victory, there is not a home in the Southern Confederacy that will 
not feel the loss, and lament it as a great national calamity. But our 
loss is distinctive. He was peculiarly our own. He came to us, in 1851, 
a lieutenant and brevet major of artillery from the army of the late 
United States, upon the unanimous appointment of the Board of Visitors, 
as professor of natural and experimental philosophy, and instructor of 
artillery. Here he labored with scrupulous fidelity for ten years in the 
duties of these important offices. Here he became a soldier of the 
Cross, and as an humble, conscientious, and useful Christian man, he 
established the character which has developed into the world-renowned 
Christian hero. 

On the 2 1 St of April, 1861, upon the order of his Excellency Governor 
Letcher, he left the Institute, in command of the corps of cadets, for 
Camp Lee, Richmond, for service in the defense of his State and 
country ; and he has never known a day of rest until called by Divine 
command to cease from his labors. 

The military career of General Jackson fills the most brilliant and 
momentous page in the history of our country, and in the achievements 
of our arms, and he stands forth a colossal figure in this war for our in- 
dependence. His country now returns him to us, not as he was when 
he left us. His spirit has gone to God who gave it, — his mutilated body 
comes back to us, to his home, to be laid by us in the tomb. Reverently 
and affectionately we will discharge this last solemn duty, and 

" Though his earthly sun is set, 
Its light shall linger round us yet, 
Bright — radiant — blest." 

Young gentlemen of the corps of cadets : The memory of General 
Jackson is very precious to you. You know how faithfully, how con- 
scientiously, he discharged every duty. You know that he was em- 
phatically a man of God, and that Christian principle impressed every 
act of his life. You know how he sustained the honor of our arms when 
he commanded at Harper's Ferry ; how gallantly he repulsed Patterson 
at Hainesville ; the invincible stand he made with his Stonewall Brigade 
at Manassas. You know the brilliant scries of successes and victories 
which immortalized his Valley campaign, for many of you were under 
his standard at McDowell, and pursued the discomfited Milroy and 
Schenck to Franklin, You know his rapid march to the Chickahominy ; 
how he turned the flank of McClellan at Gaines's Mill ; his subsequent 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 559 

victory over Pope at Cedar Mountain ; the part he bore in the great 
victory at second Manassas; his investment and capture of Harper's 
Ferry; his rapid march and great conflict at Sharpsburg ; and when his 
last conflict was passed, the tribute of the magnanimous Lee, who would 
gladly have suffered in his own person, could he by that sacrifice have 
saved General Jackson, and to whom alone, under God, he gave the 
whole glory of the great victory at Chancellorsville. Surely the Vir- 
ginia Military Institute has a precious inheritance in the memory of 
General Jackson. His work is finished. God gave him to us and to 
his country. He fitted him for his work, and when his work was do.ne 
he called him to himself. Submissive to the will of his heavenly Father, 
it may be said of him, that while in every heart there may be some mur- 
muring, his will was to do and suffer the will of God. 

Reverence the memory of such a man as General Jackson. 

Imitate his virtues, and here, over his lifeless remains, reverently dedi- 
cate your service, and your life if need be, in defense of that cause so 
dear to his heart, — the cause for which he fought and bled, the cause in 
which he died. 

Let the Cadet Battery, which he so long commanded, honor his mem- 
ory by half-hour guns to-morrow, from sunrise to sunset, under the direc- 
tion of the commandant of cadets. 

Let his lecture-room be draped in mourning for the period of six 
months. 

Let the officers and cadets of the Institute wear the usual badge of 
mourning for the period of thirty days ; and it is respectfully recom- 
mended to the alumni of the institution to unite in this last tribute of 
respect to the memory of their late professor. 

All duties will be suspended to-morrow. 

By command of Major-General Smith. 

A. GO VAN HILL, A. A. V. M. I. 



[Extract from the Report of the Superintendent, June 22, 1863.] 

DEATH OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL THOMAS J. JACKSON, 

PROFESSOR OF NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY. 

The progress of the war which our vandal foes arc waging upon 
us with such savage ferocity continues to swell the list of the alumni 
and ex-cadets of this institution who have fallen in the battles of 
the country. I append a list of those who have been killed or died 
in service, and also of those who have been wounded in battle. This 



560 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



list shows at what costly sacrifice the Virginia Military Institute is return- 
ing to the State its debt of gratitude. 





C 

pq 


c 

"o 
U 


c 
U 

►3 


i 


'5 
0. 
U 


;3 


u 
> 


< 



I 
3 


18 
18 


8 
14 


4 
11 


22 
19 


20 
20 


13 


86 
85 




Total 


4 


36 


22 


IS 


41 


40 


13 


171 



This table, from the nature of the case, is doubtless very incomplete, 
as no returns have been received from the army of the Mississippi and 
that of the Trans-Mississippi. 

But this institution has met with an irreparable loss in the removal of 
one of its most honored professors, while his death has covered the na- 
tion with sorrow and mourning. Lieutenant-General Thomas J. Jack- 
son, Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, after having 
been severely wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville, died at Guinea 
Station, on the loth of May, of pneumonia. His remains having been 
brought back to the Institute by the order of the Governor, were re- 
ceived and buried with military honors. The military escort was com- 
manded by the commandant of cadets, Major Scott Ship, one of his 
former pupils. It was composed of a regiment of infantry, of which the 
corps of cadets constituted eight companies, one company composed of 
detached members of the Stonewall Brigade, and one company of con- 
valescent soldiers from the hospital. The Cadet Battery, which he had 
so long commanded, and which constituted a part of the original Stone- 
wall Brigade, serving with him at first Manassas, was the artillery escort. 
A squadron of cavalry of Sweeney's Battalion, Jenkins's command, 
many of the members being from General Jackson's native section, 
opportunely arrived in Lexington in time to form the cavalry escort, and 
thus complete the military honors provided- for an officer of his rank by 
the Regulations. The body was borne on a caisson of the Cadet Bat- 
tery, drawn by four horses, and led by servants of the Institute, acting 
as grooms. I communicate herewith the orders from the adjutant- 
general and from these headquarters, announcing this great calamity to 
the officers and cadets of this institution. 

As appropriate to the relations sustained by General Jackson to this 
institution, and the brilliant military career which has added such lustre 
to his name and to his country, I have prepared an address, commemo- 



LIEUT.-GEN. THOMAS J. JACKSON. 561 

rative and illustrative of his life and character, which I propose to 
deliver to the corps of cadets, in the presence of the Board of Visitors, 
on some appropriate evening of the week. 

I deemed it my duty to specially detail one of the professors, Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel James W. Massie, to escort Mrs. Jackson to her home in 
North Carolina. 

In this connection, it is proper that I should statd what is already 
known to the Board of Visitors, that when the war broke out every pro- 
fessor and assistant professor of the institution entered the military ser- 
vice, in the various departments of duty to which they were called, and 
continued in the discharge of these duties until required to resume their 
special duties here, by the order of the Governor and Board of Visitors, 
upon the reopening of the school in January, 1862. 

The Board of Visitors responds, with mournful satisfaction, to the sug- 
gestions and observances of the Institute in honor of the memory of 
the lamented Thomas J. Jackson. The superintendent, both in his an- 
nual report and in his discourse to the assembled cadets, evinced the 
affection and esteem with which he was cherished by the brethren of the 
Faculty, and paid a just tribute to the lofty character and heroic services 
of the illustrious deceased. 

It was fit that the public lamentation should find its most touching ex- 
pression at the Institute, whose reputation he as a professor had con- 
tributed to extend, and from which he had gone forth to fight his 
country's battles, to return again to his academic labors after the enemy 
had been expelled and subdued. 

The death of Lieutenant-General Jackson was deplored as a personal 
bereavement by the army, and smote the Confederate heart with the 
weight of an inconsolable sorrow. Such was his varied experience, 
and in so true a sense was he a philosopher, hero, and Christian, that 
there is not a trial or emergency of military or even civil life for which 
due provision may not be derived from an appeal to his example ; nor 
any position of distinction or influence to which his example does not 
furnish incentives to aspire. He was taken away in the nine-and- 
thirtieth year of his age, "having so much dispatched the true business 
of life, that the eldest rarely attained to his immense knowledge, and 
the youngest enter not into the world with more innocency. Whosoever 
leads such a life, needs be the less anxious upon how short warning it is 
taken from him." 

Resolved, That the chair of Natural and Experimental Philosophy, so 
long and honorably filled by Lieutenant-General T. J. Jackson, be here- 
after designated by the name of its first and illustrious professor.. 



36 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET, VA. 

MAY 15, 1864. 



During the war, the Virginia Military Institute was re- 
quired, by the order of the supreme authority of the Govern- 
ment, to be kept in full operation, as a means of supplying 
educated officers to meet the casualties of the service. The 
corps of cadets was composed, for the most part, of those 
who were below the age for military service. Still, the orders 
of the Governor directed that this well-organized body of 
young men should be held in reserve, ready for active duty 
in the field, should their services be specially required in 
defense of the Valley of Virginia. 

Under these orders, the superintendent of the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute was called upon by Major-General J. C. Breckin- 
ridge to send the battalion of cadets to Staunton, in anticipation 
of an advance up the Valley of Virginia, under Major-General 
Si<^el, with a force much superior to that under the command 
of General Breckinridge. 

Orders were immediately given to Lieutenant-Colonel S. 
Ship, commandant of cadets, to march to Staunton with four 
companies of cadets, organized as infantry, and a section of 
artillery, and to report to Major-General Breckinridge. The 
command reached Staunton on the 12th of May, on which day 
the following general orders were issued: 

Headquarters Valley Department, 
Staunton, Virginia, May 12, 1864. 
GENERAL ORDERS, 1 
No. I. J 

I. The command will move to-morrow morning promptly at six 
o'clock, on turnpike leading to Harrisonburg. 
562 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET VA. 563 

The following order of march will be observed : 

Wharton's Brigade. 

Echols's Brigade. 

Corps of Cadets. 

Reserve forces. 

Ambulances and medical wagons. 

Artillery. 

Trains. 

2. The artillery will for the present be united, and form a battalion 
under command of Major McLaughlin. 

The trains will move behind the artillery in the order of their re- 
spective commands. 

3. Brigadier-General Echols will detail two companies under a field- 
officer as guard for the train. 

By command of Major-General Breckinridge. 

J. STOTTARD JOHNSTON, A. A.-G. 

Reaching New Market, about forty miles from Staunton, on 

Sunday the 15th, they came in contact with the enemy just 

after mid-day. The advance of the Confederate army was made 

in two lines, the corps of cadets occupying a central position in 

the second line, which was about six hundred yards in rear of 

the first. During the formation of the line of battle, they were 

under the cover of a range of hills running parallel to the 

line. As the first line, in advancing, reached the crest of one 

of the parallel lines of hills in front, the enemy falling back to 

their position as we advanced, a sharp artillery fire was opened 

upon this line ; but the range being imperfectly secured, the 

line suffered no damage. By the time the second line reached 

this crest, the range had been better secured, and six or seven 

of the cadet battalion, including Captain Hill, were wounded 

by a shell. Passing this crest, our lines were in the bottom 

between this crest and the enemy's position, and then they 

threw off knapsacks and prepared for a vigorous contest. The 

two lines advanced steadily, the interval between them being 

constantly reduced, and a sharp musketry was kept up by the 

enemy, which was returned by the first line. While this 

musketry firing was going on, a constant artillery fire was 

kept up by the enemy upon our lines, and cadets Cabell, 



564 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Jones, and Crockett were instantly killed by a shell, before 
any fire was returned by the second line. The two lines con- 
tinued to advance, until, reaching a house on the table-land in 
front, the battalion of cadets was divided by this house, the 
left wing passing to the left of the house in irregular order, 
the right wing marking time, after passing the house, until the 
left wing came up, the whole line being exposed to a heavy 
musketry fire. The first line, receiving the heavy fire first, 
was lying down, and was then joined by the second line, when 
the battery in front opened heavily with grape and canister; 
and it was at this point that most of the cadets were wounded. 
Colonel Ship was knocked down at this point. A little con- 
fusion arose at this time; but order was immediately re- 
established by Captain Wise, who took command during the 
temporary disability of Colonel Ship. Our line now returned 
a sharp fire, the cadets advancing as they fired, until reaching 
a fence very near and in front of the battery which had kept 
up so deadly a fire upon our lines. Here the cadet battalion 
sheltered itself by the fence for a short time, keeping up a 
sharp and effective fire upon this battery, and after a brief 
interval, d.uring which a severe fire was kept up on both sides, 
a general advance of our whole line was made, which resulted 
in the capture of the battery and the general rout of the 
enemy. 

The corps of cadets, two hundred and fifty strong, paraded 
two hundred and twenty-three muskets. The infantry bat- 
talion was organized as follows : 

A Company. 

Captain Henry A. Wise, Jr., Assistant Professor, Commanding. 

Cadet Captain, C. H. Minge. 

" 1st Lieutenant, W. C. Hardy, 

" 2d " W. Morson. 

" 1st Sergeant, E. M. Ross. 

" 2d " W. F. Duncan, 

" 3d " J. Douglass. 

" 4th " H. Wood. 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET VA. 565 

Cadet 1st Corporal, L. Royster. 

" 2d " Robt. Brockenbrough. 

" 3d " G. K. Macon. 

" 4th " S. F. Atwell. 

B Company. 

Captain Frank Preston, Assistant Professor, Commanding. 

Cadet Captain, C. W. Shafer. 

" 1st Lieutenant, G. W. Gretter. 
" 2d " Levi Welch. 

" 1st Sergeant, A. Pizzini. 
" 2d " H. W. Garrow. 

" 3d " W. M. Patton. 

" 1st Corporal, T. G. Hayes. 
2d " J. B. Jarratt. 

" 3d " Patrick Henry. 

" 4th " B. W. Barton. 

C Company. 

Captain A. Govan Hill, Assistant Professor, Commanding. 

Cadet Captain, S. S. Shriver. 

" 1st Lieutenant, T. D. Davis, absent on furlough. 
" 2d " A. Boggess. 

" 1st Sergeant, J. A. Stuart. 
2d " L. C. Wise. 

" 3d " A. F. Redd. 

"4th " W. Martin. 

" 1st Corporal, H. H. Dinwiddie. 
" 2d " J. Wood. 

" 3d " J. James. 

" 4th " R. Ridley. 



D Company. 

Captain T. Robinson, Assistant Professor, Commanding. 

Cadet Captain, B. Colonna. 

" 1st Lieutenant, J. F. Hanna. 

" 2d " F. W. Claybrook. 

1st Sergeant, W. H. Cabell. 
" 2d " W. Nelson. 

" . 3d " C. Ethcridge. 

" 4th " J. R. Echols. 
" 5th " W. Gilham. 



566 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Cadet 1st Corporal, O. A. Glazebrook. 
" 2d " J. R. Triplett. 

3d " Alfred Marshall. 

" 4th " John Wise. 

Casualties. 

Killed. 

Cadet W. H. Cabell, Virginia, 2d Class, ist Sergeant, D Company. 



S. F. Atwell, " 3d 

W. H. McDowell, N.C., 4th 
J. B. Stanard, Virginia, 4th 
T.G.Jefferson, " 4th 
H. J. Jones, " 4th 

C. G. Crockett, " 4th 
J. C. Wheelwright, " 4th 



Corporal, 
Private, 



A 
B 
D 
B 
D 
B 
C 



Woimded. 
Lieutenant-Colonel S. Ship, Commanding Corps of Cadets. 
Captain A. G. Hill, Commanding C Company, Assistant Professor. 
Cadet Captain S. S. Shriver, Virginia, ist Class, Captain, C Company 
H. W. Garrow, Alabama, 2d Class, Sergeant, B Company. 
" J. A. Stuart, Virginia, 2d Class, ist Sergeant, C " 

L. C. Wise, " 2d " Sergeant, C " 

" G. K. Macon, " 3d " Corporal, A 
" J. S. Wise, " 3d " " D 

" D. S. Pierce, " 3d " Private, D 

H. C. Whitehead, Virginia, 3d Class, Private, B 



, 3.4*A/VuJtt.. 



G. Spiller, " 

H. J. Meade, 

W. D. Buster, 

J. R. Triplett, 

J. Preston Cocke, " 

J. F. Bransford, " 

F. L. Smith, Jr., 

G.^Gar^fett, 

M. Marshall, Mississippi, 

W. Dillard, 

E. D. Christian, 

S. T. Phillips, 

E. H. Smith, 

W. P. Watson, 

P. Johnston, 

J. N. Upshur, 

T. W. White, 



3d 
3d 
3d 
3d 
4th 
4th 
4th 
4th 
4th 
Virginia, 4th 
4th 
4th 
" 4th 
4th 
4th 
4th 
4th 



A 
A 
A 
Corporal, D 
Private, A 
B 
B 
B 
B 
D 
B 
B 
A 
A 
B 
C 
D 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET, VA. 567 

Cadet P. W. Woodlief, Louisiana, 4th Class, Private, B Company. 

C. H. Read, Jr., Virginia, 4th " " C " 

" E. Berkeley, " 4th " " D " 

" R. A. Pendleton, " 4th " " C 

" C. C. Randolph, Virginia, 4th " " C " 

" F. G. Gibson, " 4th " " A " 

" J. D. Darden, " 4th " " B 

" E. S. Moorman, " 4th " " D 

" J. S. Merritt, " 4th " " C 

" C. H. Harrison, " 4th " " A " 

" J. J. Dickinson, " 4th " " D " 

" C. D. Walker, " 4th " " C 

" J. Imboden, " 4tli " " D " 



Recapitulation. 



Killed 

Wounded 



Total killed and wounded . . • 56 

The battle of New Market resulted in a complete victory 
to the Confederate cause. Major- General Breckinridge, in 
acknowledging the services of the corps of cadets, said " that 
his small force made it necessary to use this young battalion, 
and had he not used them very freely, the result might have 
been very different." 

The cadets returned to Staunton after the battle, with in- 
structions to report at Camp Lee, Richmond. Many of them, 
as they marched into Staunton, were without shoes or socks, 
these having been lost in the charge through the plowed 
fields, which were heavy with the recent rains. Their journey 
to Richmond was a continued ovation. At every depot ladies 
had collected, with refreshments, and the joyous greetings 
with which they were received on reaching Richmond showed 
how fully their services had been appreciated. 

The Governor of Virginia presented them with a battalion 
State flag, commemorative of the battle of the 15th of May. 
The Confederate Congress, then in session, passed an unani- 
mous vote of thanks for their heroic gallantry, which was 
formally presented by Mr. Speaker Bocock, and these expres- 



568 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



sions were in harmony with the general sentiment of the 
country, which regarded their conduct, on this eventful day, 
as marked by a spirit and courage not excelled by veteran 
corps. 

The muster-roll of the cadet battalion was taken by Gen- 
eral Hunter when the Federal army took possession of Lex- 
ington. The following rolls of companies have been made up 
by cadets then members of the corps, and contain only names 
of privates, officers and non-commissioned officers having 
been given : 



Company A. 
Adams, R. A. 
Ashley, Anderson C. J. 
Binford, R. J. 
Bowen, W. 
Buster, W, D. 
Butler, W. H. 
Campbell, I. 
Cocke, P. 
Cousins, R. H. 
Davis, A. 
Finch, 
Foster, 
Garrett, W. 
Gibson, F. G. 
Goodykoontz, E. A, 
Harrison, 
Harrison, C. 
Hatton, 
Hayes, W. C. 
Hiden, P. B. 
Hill, J. M. 
Howard, J. C. 
Hubard, W. J. 
James, F. W. 
Jessie, 

Larrick, J. S. 
Lewis, 



Company B. 



Akers, R. C. 
Ale.xander, W. K. 



Mallory, E. S. 
*McVeigh, N. 
Meade, H. J. 
Mohler, D. G. 
Morgan, P. 
Page, 

Payne, A. S. 
Pendleton, R. A. 
Perkinson, 
Smith, C. H. 
Smith, F. 
Smith, E. H. 
Spiller, G. 
Spiller, W. H. 
Temple, R. C. 
Turner, 
Thompson, K, 
Watson, W. P. 
White, 
White, J. 
Wingfield, 
Wingfield, J. 
Wood, 
Wood, P. 
Woodruff, B. T. 
*Yarbrough, W. S. 



Bayard, N. J. 
Bransford, J. F. 



\V<.i^.i 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET, VA. 



569 



Brown, H. C. 
*Carmichael, J. 
Carmichael, W. S. 
Christian, E. D. 
Clarkson, J. H. 
Cocke, J. L. 
Cocke, J. P. 
Cocke, W. 

Corbin, J. P. 

Crank, T. J. 

Crockett, C. G. 

Cullen, S. 

Corling, C. T. 

Darden, J. D. 

Dillard, J. 

Faulkner, C. J. 

Garrett, G. T. 

Garrett, V. 

Grasty, W. C. 

*Hankins, M. 

*Happer, R. W. B. 

Harris, W. O. 

*Ha\vks, A. W. 

Hundley, C. IB. 
Hupp, R. 
Jefferson, T. G. 
Johnson, P. 
Jones, 
Kemp, W. 



Adams, R. 
*Blankman, J. S. 
Blundon, R. M. 
Booth, S. W. 
Buffington, E. S. 
Chalmers, W. M. 
Crawford, W. B. 
Crichton, J. A. 
Davis, J. 
Davis, L. 
Dunn, J. R. 
Early, J. C. 
Ezekicl, M. J. 



Kirk, W. M. 
Lee, G. T. 
Leftwich, E. C. 
Mason, S. B. 
McDowell, W. H. 
Morson, A. A. 
Penn, J. G. 
Perry, W. E. S. 
Phelps, T. K. 
Phillips, S. T. 
Powell, J. J. 
Preston, J. B. 
Richeson, J. V. 
Raum, G. E. 
Redwood, W. F. 
Roane, J. 
*Tackett, J. F. 
Tabb, J. 
Taylor, J. E. 
Tunstall, R. 
Tardy, A. H. 
Turner, E. L. 
*Veitch, W. 
Walker, C. P. 
Washington, L. 
Wesson, P. M. 
White, W. H. 
Whitehead, H. C. 
Woodlief, P. W. 



Company C. 



Fry, H. W. 
FuUon, CM. 
Goode, H. S. 
Goodwin, J. H. 
Harrison, W. L. 
Jones, W. S. 
*Lamb, W. 
Langhorne, M. D. 
*Lee, R. 
*Martin, T. S. 
Maury, 

McGavock, J. W. 
Merrit, J. L. 



570 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 



Minor, J. H. T. 
Mitchell, S. T. 
Morson, J. B. 
Noland, N. 
Overton, A. W. 
Page, P. 
*Patton, J. R. 
Pendleton, W. 
*Price, F. B. 
Randolph, C. C. 
Read, C. H. 
Ricketts, S. C. 
Roller, P. W. 
Rose, G. M. 
Rutherford, J. M. 
Shields, J. H. 
Shriver, H. 

Allen, D. 
Arbuckle, A. A. 
Bagnall, J. S. 
Barney, W. H. 
Baylor, J. B. 
Beattie, W. F. 
Bennett, W. B. 
Berkeley, E. 
Cabell, R. G. 
Clark, G. 
Coleman, J. 
Crews, B. F. 
Crenshaw, S. D. 
Crockett, H. S. 
Dillard, W. 
Dickinson, J. J. 
Eubank, W. M. 
Gray, J. B. 
Hamlin, E. L. 
Haynes, L. C. 
Harvie, J. B. 
Harvie, J. S. 
Hannah, J. S. 
Horseley, J. 
Imboden, I. 
Jones, H. J. 



Company D. 



Slaughter, W. L. 
Smith, W. T. 
Taylor, B. 
Taylor, C. 
Taylor, W. C. 
Tate, C. 
Thompson, P, 
Tomes, T. J, 
*Toms, A. C. 
Turner, C. W. H. 
Upshur, J. N. 
Walker, C. D. 
Waller, R. E. 
Walton, W. T. 
Wheelwright, J. C. 
nVilson, D. C. B. 



Kennedy, W. H. 
*King, D. P. 
Knight, E. C. 
Lee, F. T. 
Letcher, S. H. 
Lewis, N. C. 
Locke, R. 
Lumsden, W. J. 
Marks, C. H. 
Marshall, M. 
McCorkle, J. W. 
McClung, T. W. 
Moorman, E. S. 
Nalle, G. B. W. 
Peirce, D. S. C. 
Preston, T. W. 
Radford, W. M. 
Reveley, G. F. 
Seatons, S. H. 
Sowers, J. F. 
Stanard, J. B. 
Skaggs, L. B. 
Stacker, C. 
Stuart, A. H. H. 
Tunstall, J. 
Tutwiler, E. M. 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET VA. 571 

Venable, W. L. White, T. W. 

Ward, G. W. Wilson, R. 

Webb, J. S. Wimbish, L. W. 

Welford, C. E. Witt, J. S. 

Wharton, J. E. Wood, M. B. 

The asterisk before names indicates those who were not in the battle, 
being left to guard the Institute buildings. 



As an appropriate close to this description of the battle of 
New Market, we insert the following poem : 

THE CADETS AT NEW MARKET. 

To that brave band of young heroes, the cadets of the Virginia Mili- 
tary Institute, boys in years, patriots in their devotion to the South, 
and veterans in their soldierly skill and daring, these lines, commemo- 
rative of their gallant defense of the Valley of Virginia in the battle of 
New Market, on the 15th of May, 1864, are respectfully inscribed •. 

Onward they come, they come ! 
'Mid the wild battle-hum 

Fearfully chanted, — 
Boys in their youthful prime, 
Flowers of a radiant clime, 
Veterans in soul sublime. 

Firm and undaunted. 

Rushing the die to throw, 
That the wide world may kftow 

Who saved the Valley ; 
When, like an angry tide 
Up the broad mountain-side, 
Swept the proud foeman's stride 

Fresh from the Rally. 

Oh, the grand charge they made ! 
Through the walled esplanade 
Armed to resist them ; 



5/2 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Ready with blood to buy 
Freedom and liberty, 
Ready to dare and die, 
God to assist them. 

Fresh on each forehead fair, 
Sealed with a mother's prayer 

Fervently spoken, 
Hope's sunny trace and smooth 
Gleamed with the dew of youth, 
Types of the stainless truth 

Not to be broken. 

Right through the leaden storm 
Pressed every fair young form 

Mantled with glory : 
Never a heart dismayed. 
Never a faltering blade. 
Though with each step they made. 

Their footprints gory. 

Woe, to our startled foes ! 
As their young voices rose 

'Mid the fierce thunder ; 
Armed with the shield of Right, 
Davids, in that stern fight. 
Coped with Goliath's might 

To the world's wonder. 

Sadly through tears we tell 
How in their beauty Yell 

The martyred seven ; 
Freed by the battle-thrust. 
Rose their bright souls from dust, 
Bearing a nation's trust, 

Blood-sealed to Heaven. 

Shall we their deeds forget 
To whose sweet memories yet 
Proud tears we render ? 



BATTLE OF NEW MARKET, VA. 573 

Lost to a world's renown, 
Ripe for a fadeless crown, 
Early their sun went down 
In radiant splendor. 

High on the roll of fame 
Live every glorious name 

Through coming ages ; 
Let the bright record won 
By the proud duty done 
Shine through all time upon 

History's pages. 

Long live the V. M. I., 
Cradle of chivalry ! 

Fame's golden portal ; 
While War's alarums sound, 
When Peace and Joy abound, 
Still to her name redound 

Glory immortal ! 

Cornelia J. M. Jordan. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 

BY JAMES BARRON HOPE. 



[Read before the Board of Visitors, Faculty, and Cadets of the Virginia Military 
Institute, July 4, 1870.] 



I SPEAK to-day no word of buried hates, 

But, of set purpose, turn with mournful eyes 
To the dark days when the malignant Fates 
Unloosed the bonds which bound the league of States 

And flung a tempest o'er our troubled skies. 
Which spread and deepened as each angry flash 
Was followed by thick darkness and the thunder's crash. 

Its roar was heard through all the listening land ; 
No spot exemption from its wrath could boast. 

Men most remote from the surf-beaten strand 

Stood like those miners who, on Cornwall's coast, 
Beneath the Channel, hear the watery host 

Of billows seething in their rocky beds, 

With many a moan and sob, far up above their heads. 

As the storm rose the tide of passion swelled. 

So that each hamlet and sequestered vale 
The angry billows in their rage beheld, — 
Mad waves up inlets by the gales impelled, — 

Before which came at last one tattered sail : 
^geus-like our hopes went down as lead ; 
That mournful sail was black, — our Theseus-cause was dead ! 
574 



MEMORIAL POEM. 575 

Among the episodes of those dark years 

In which our State was bastioned by her graves, 
There is a picture that in flame appears, — 
A flame that one man's reputation sears, — 

A reputation which no soldier saves, 
By palliation. His the Cossack's soul, 
And now his name is struck from Fame's fair muster-roll ! 

Upon an ever-memorable day, 

Here, Alva-like, his torch he lighted, and 
Your walls, which then gave promise to grow gray 

With useful years, were given to the brand : 

A flame shot up which startled all the land, — 
Gave a new horror to the tragic scene 
Which sought to rank this School with things which once had been. 

One morn in its embattled pride it rose, 

Virginia's banner floating o'er its walls ; 
The next day's sun a smoking ruin shows. 
Its chiefest treasure snatched away by foes. 

But here my curtain o'er the picture falls, — 
In charity, all details I refrain 
Save this: Hubert's great bronze was on the spoiler's train. 

'Twas then that men grew sick at heart to see 

These lofty walls rise bare, and black, and tall, 
Stripped of their pomp like some gigantic tree 

Upon whose crest the lightnings spread their pall, 

Leaving it blasted and prepared to fall. 
Thus seemed this School. But one man saw it stand 
Renewed, baptized in fire, an honor to the land ! 

Strong in his faith, unconquerable will 

Enabled him, with all a prophet's ken. 
To see new battlements adorn this hill 

When the grim ruins saddened other men : 

And those who can contrast the now and then 
Best comprehend the courage of that mind 
Which saw success achieved, when youth's brave eyes were blind. 






576 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Fain would I pause to tell how day by day 

He toiled to rear these walls in all their pride; 

Fain would I pause a tribute fit to pay 

Those earnest men who toiled on at his side ; 
But for his sake, and theirs, I must elide 

The eulogy which strives my lips to part, — 

Unspoken though it be, 'tis warm in every heart ! 

And having scratched out with his sword's keen point 
That sad word, " failure," which, alas ! has put 

So many enterprises out of joint, 

He stamped his heel down upon ''if" and " but," 
The stones were quarried and the timber cut. 

And here we see beneath our native sun 

These massive walls which show how well the work was done. 

They are Virginia's ornament and pride. 

Upon them, mother-like, her eyes are bent ; 

Her children love them from the water's side 
Up to these mountains, whose superb ascent 
Gives a fit site for such a monument 

As this, which rises here, august and vast, 

Each wall historic in its blazons of the past ! 

Each wall with frescoes of its own appears 

Painted by Memory, till the panels blaze 
With pictures which wake triumphs, or wring tears ; 

And each grand scene grows grander as Ave gaze, 

Grander and wider, in the splendid rays 
Which dreaming Fancy, that Salvator, flings 
O'er battle-pieces where fair Glory spreads her wings. 



See there ! An April sun shines on the scene ! 

Behold ! It lights the mountain-tops ! See ! it invades 

All the hushed valleys, — purple-hued and green. 
And tender in their variegated shades, — 
With beams that glitter like a squadron's blades, — 



MEMORIAL POEM. 577 

See how they flash out in fantastic play 

On a long line of steel above a line of gray ! 

Beardless the chins that proud battalion shows, 

Health on each cheek and vigor in each limb, 
And splendid courage on each forehead glows, — 

Each eye speaks out the language of a hymn 

Such as sung Korner e'er his own was dim; 
The patriot's valor warms each youthful breast; 
Their State flag waves them on ! Hope's plume is o'er each crest ! 

Hark the command ! The stirring drums break out 

In martial clamor, and with cadenced beat, 
The serried column takes the mountain route. 

Tears come to woman's eyes, — tears proud and sweet ; 

For woman, when a sacrifice is meet. 
Sends up her prayer, and then looks on the steel 
Unshaken by the axe, or yet the hideous wheel. 

Destined to march full many a weary mile. 

Destined to bleed on many a stricken field, 
The column plunges in the dark defile ; 

Taught how to strike, but never how to yield. 

Too many sleep, each on his cloven shield ! 
The music dies. They go. A thoughtful man 
Rides stern and silent with the disappearing van. 



III. 

Three years have passed. May tints the orchards' trees ; 

The valleys all are carpeted with grass. 
The intervening years like storms on seas 

Have fringed the beach with wrecks, and theirs, alas ! 

Are thick about them. Like a broken glass 
Our broken fortunes multiply despairs. 

But still we strive like knights who fight with splinters of their 
spears. 

New Market's slopes before them sinking down. 
Those gallant boys march on to fill one grave, 

37 



578 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Or conquer in the battle. Stern and brown 
Their boyish faces; but ne'er Scythians drave 
Their chariots with dark eyes more bright and brave 
Than those of yon superb yet tattered band, 
Ready to die, facing the foe, sword clutched in hand. 

Heavy the odds ! But when did youth count odds? 
The fight sways forward, now reels back again ; 

In such a scene, we understand how gods 
Flew from Olympus, or the angry main, 
To thunder in fierce shocks on Ilium's plain, — 

The battle-fever maddens like new wine ; 

To act red Epics out is more than half divine ! 

The dust of a long march is on their brows. 
And though they form beneath a withering fire, 

They need no battle-speaker to arouse 

Their splendid courage, or their hearts inspire ; 
As comrades fall it only rises higher. 

Ship goes down wounded, but with flaming eyes 

The line sweeps on, — " Avenge him !" thunders Wise. 

Two hundred muskets go into that fight. 
Two hundred heroes dash upon the foe. 

Lost in a canopy of smoke from sight. 

Straight at two batteries valiantly they go, — 
Two hundred arrows shot from battle's bow ! 

And there behold ! Virginia, see thy sons ! 

Thy youthful warriors now are masters of the guns ! 

Two hundred went, but came not back. Alas ! 

One-fourth their number lie upon the plain : — 
Young Cabell's life-blood dyes the trampled grass, 

Boy Stanard's pours out in a crimson rain, 

McDowell seeth not his home again ; 
But polished Preston 'scapes war's fierce alarms 
To die at last within my Alma Mater's arms. 

Give, if you will, the tribute of your tears ; 
But, friends, remember theirs is glorious sleep ! 



579 



MEMORIAL POEM. 

What mariner, beset by toils and fears, 

Should envy those who slumber in the deep? 
What vet'ran soldier should o'er heroes weep? 
What Mother-State or Mother-School despair. 
When inspiration such is borne on every air? 

Their sleep is made glorious, 
And dead they're victorious 

Over defeat ! 
Never Lethean billows 
Shall roll o'er their pillows. 

Red with the feet 
Of Mars from the wine-press 

So bitterly sweet ! 

Sleeping, but glorious. 

Dead in Fame's portal, 
Dead, but victorious, 

Dead, but immortal ! 
They gave us great glory, — 

What more could they give ? 
They have left us a story, 

A story to live 

And blaze on the brows of the State like a crown. 
While from these grand mountains the rivers run down, 
While grass grows in grave-yards, or the Ocean's deep calls, 
Their deeds and their glory shall fresco these walls ! 



Fain would I mention every separate name. 
The homage of my heart bring to my lips ; 

But such an extract from the roll of Fame, 
Who keeps the record at her finger-tips. 
Would be like Homer's mighty list of ships. 

Five-score now sleep. Three hundred bear their scars 

As decorations from the crimson hand of Mars. 

So, when I bring some hero's figure in 

The frescoes which I paint upon your walls, 



58o 



INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

'Tis as a type of all. It were a sin 

To slight the valiant dead upon whose palls 
The reverential tear-drop proudly falls ! 
Each name I call is but the foam set free 
Upon the billowy crests of one wave-broken sea. 



V. 

Look there ! A gen'rous enemy might weep 
To mark those ragged, worn, and hungry men 

Facing their death. They stagger as they keep 
Their line of battle. They are one to ten : 
The hunters track the lion to his den, — 

A trampling charge ! Artillery rends the skies ! 

Alas ! at Sailor's Creek the gallant Crutchfield dies ! 

His, all the learning of your varied schools. 
Polished by travel and improved by thought, 

His life, shaped by the Decalogue's pure rules, 
With manly virtues was all richly fraught. 
This noble life his Mother State he brought ; 

And when some Clarendon our hist'ry writes. 

His name will shine, a star among our Falkland knights. 



VI. 

Long is the list of those whose names appeal 
For place within these rude cartoons of mine, — 

Knights made upon the field by Glory's steel, 
Whose names, like ever-burning planets, shine. 
Stars in our Southern Cross, ne'er to decline; 

But in a poem of the skies all flames 

Could not be called, nor yet in mine all their bright names. 

The two brave Pattons and the Aliens true. 
The valiant Crittenden and Chenowith tried, 

Frank Smith, and Strange, and Edmonds rise to view, 
And gallant Mallory standeth side by side 
With the " Boy Major" who superbly died. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 38 1 

And Selden crowns the noble list of dead ! 
Silent I stand. My heart uncovered as my head. 

Mark yonder General spurring to the front ! 

At Boonsboro' his scattered column flies ; 
That form has faced full many a battle's brunt ! 

He rallies them ! See victory in his eyes ! 

And now, O God ! the splendid Garland dies ! 
No knightlier soldier ever fell in mail. 
Roll all your muffled drums ! Let all your trumpets wail ! 



VII. 

The sky grows darker, and the end draws near, 
With each new day some lamp of hope goes out, 

Each bloody sun sets on some bloody bier : 
We rarely drive the enemy to rout, 
Nearer and nearer comes the foeman's shout, 

The blooms of victory in the Valley fade. 

Saved not by Early's genius or great Jackson's shade ! 

Again behold ! the overwhelming foe 

Sweeps on like billows of the mighty sea, 
Or ice-blocks of the Arctics' grinding floe, 

When by the sudden summer thaw set free. 

The brave grow braver and the timid flee. 
At Winchester, e'en Fate, with hurried eyes, 
Pauses to shed one tear where low a hero lies. 

Crowned by Fame. Rich in a people's thanks, 
That soldier sleeps, where mountains watch his grave. 

Like sentinels set round the James' banks, 
Which, as it were, in homage to the brave, 
Stills for a moment its impetuous wave, 

Then rushes on ; and as the Severn bore ^ 

Great Wycliffe's dust, this bears his name from shore to shore. 

As our great river glideth swiftly down, 

Singing its song to mountain-side and plain, 



582 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

In rustling grain-field and tumultuous town, 
Who listens long may hear, in clear refrain. 
The hero's words at Chancellor's again : 
Above the vocal stream they ring out high. 
And, as of old, we hear his stirring battle-cry. 

On to th' Atlantic the dark current leaps, 

Another river now its volume swells ; 
Bright Chickahominy from its marshes sweeps, 

Eager to hear the story that it tells : 

Then Appomattox the swift tide impels 
On t'ward the sea, which pauses in its flow 
To hear the proud command, " Charge over friend or foe !" 



VIII. 

But there are others who have claimed a place 
Within the hearts of Mother-School and State : 

Men who have stood serenely face to face 

With Death himself, and whom benignant Fate 
Has left us, still heroically great, — 

They live, to bid their country find surcease 

From her great troubles in her victories of peace. 

Mumford and Cutshaw, early friend of mine, 

And Walter Taylor, on whose brow we see 
A civic wreath. Lane, worth a nobler line. 

Terry and Walker, both may claim to be 

Men who have bravely borne their destiny. 
But when your Washington on canvas spreads 
Your great Round Table, he will paint a multitude of heads. 



A July midnight ! Silence on our host ! 
The lonely sentry in the starry light 

Slow paces on his solitary post 

And thinks, perchance, with dreamy, fond delight, 
Of the dear sleepers in his home to-night ; 



MEMORIAL POEM. 583 

In fancy sees his bright-eyed boys at play, — 
Alas ! that sentry never sees the dawn of day ! 

The city's clocks are on the stroke of five ; 

Cocks crow in distant farm-yards. All is well ! 

None dream that presently two hosts shall strive 
Upon that spot as though some dev'lish spell 
Had called up demons from the depths of hell. 

A sudden flame ! A muffled roar, and — then 

An awful silence for one moment comes again. 

Oh ! there is wreck of bastion and redoubt ! 

And sudden death for soldiers in their sleep ! 
Then hid in smoke, with wild, triumphant shout, 

The storming columns through the sulphur sweep. 

To take the lines it is not theirs to keep. 
But would you see that wild, impetuous rush ? 
Go, mark the canvas lit by Elder's magic brush ! 

Apollo shoots his blazing arrows down ! 

Two armies now are struggling for the prize ; 
Each fights as a brave king would for his crown. 

Red in his blood full many a hero lies : 

White faces stare up blindly at the skies. 
In Jackson's stirrups, through the war-cloud dun. 
Here comes Mahone ! Thank God ! the Crater fight is won ! 

Write down his name in letters of red gold ! 

Sing it in ballads, which shall never cease ! 
Till time shall end the story will be told ; 

How he took fame in fee, and not by lease, — 

How great he was in war, how great in peace ! 
But poor the picture of this humble line 
Beside the marble cut by gifted Valentine ! 



X. 

And last of all I humbly speak the name 

Of one who dead still lives; whose history flows 



584 INSTITUTE MEMORIAL. 

Like a white plume above the crest of Fame ; 
Whose fair renown forever spotless shows 
Bright as some orb which on the gazer grows 
As from the bosom of a stormy sea, 
It climbs to float in Heaven's star-lit infinity. 

The valiant, thoughtful, Christian man who rode. 
Sad years ago, forth with the youthful band 

Of school-boy heroes, from this calm abode. 

Comes back to day. I see his conquering brand 
Keen as Durandal. His uplifted hand. 

As Cromwell earnest ; as Napoleon swift, 

His was Goliath's force, with David's God-sent gift. 

Before his image as before some saint's, 
In silence only eloquent I stand 

Gazing upon his glory, fancy faints ; 

But, could I hold my heart within my hand, 
Then I might hope to make you understand 

All that I feel but cannot put in speech, — 

His battles sing for him, his private virtues preach. 

Heap lace upon colossal bronze, and fling 
Velvet on statue cut by Angelo, 

But ask me not to picture battle's king. 

Nor mark the avalanche which leaped below. 
Nor paint the lightning whose wild flash and glow 

With its great splendors dazzled Fame's own eye, 

Alas ! that Jove by his own thunderbolt should die ! 

" Die !" did I say? No ! Stonewall Jackson sleeps, 
Nor was my heathen image fit. It went 

Wide of the mark. His sainted memory keeps 
Its hold on us as that of pure knight bent 
Upon the Quest. Full-armed he left his tent. 

With preparation of the Gospel shod. 

To find the Grail and Everlasting life with God. 



MEMORIAL POEM. 585 



XI. 

A modern painter on his canvas throws 
A wonderful effect. His awe-struck hand 

The form celestial of his subject shows 
By a great shadow. Beautiful and grand 
His picture speaks a name all understand. 

I know my work by his is poor and tame, 

But by a shade I bring to view another name. 

No need to speak it, and I speak it not ; 
Your lips all utter it in nightly prayers. 

My little children never seek their cot 

Ere they have begged their heavenly Father's cares 
For him who lives, — last of the Cavaliers ; 

And oft they tell, in accents grave and sweet, 

How our great Captain vanquishes defeat. 



XII. 

My song is done. With our fair Troy a wreck, 
Young brothers here, .^neas-like, we stand, 

But on Time's sea there floats for us a deck. 
The oars invite us and the sails expand, 
To bear us from this desolated strand. 

The past, Creusa-like, no more is ours, 

But then the Tuscan Tiber has its unplucked flowers ! 

Like the great hero, let us onward go. 
A golden planet hangs o'er Ida's steeps,* 

Gilding the waters with a splendid glow, 
Higher tlie star of Hope its pathway keeps, 
The keen prow to the calling billow leaps, — 

The future has its green, enameled sods ; 

Seek these — with Lee and Jackson as your household gods. 



